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Be extraordinary!

Robert

A Balance Point monthly eZine dedicated to assisting people in living extraordinary lives and creating extraordinary organizations.

We encourage you to forward this message to friends or colleagues who want to be more effective in working with people. They can subscribe to future issues and receive our free 23 page report “ Simple Truths and Enduring Values – The Eight Elements of Personal and Organizational Effectiveness,” at http://www.extraordinarypeople.com/ezine/subscribe.htm.

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In this issue:

• FEATURE: Extraordinary Responses to Adversity

• Extraordinary Wisdom Quote of the Month

• Rave Recommendations from Balance Point

• Extraordinary Living Action Steps

• Getting to Know...

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE – LIKE YOU!

Last month I had the pleasure of attending a Beverly Hills fundraiser for the Children's Environmental Health Coalition (CHEC). Balance Point donated copies of our photo essay book “One World, One Child” to each participant as expression of our commitment to enhance the quality of children's lives. I accompanied my Partner and the book's author/producer, Dianna Lynn, to the event along with Joe Henry, Grammy Award winning songwriter and poet, who generously contributed his lyrics to the book and whose commitment to children matches our own.

Soooooo… Let's get this next part out of the way immediately:

Yes.

Yes, I loved meeting John Travolta and Christian Slater and Olympic Silver Medalist Cathy Rigby. Yes, I really enjoyed being “up close” for the musical part of the show featuring Olivia Newton John, Melissa Etheridge and Sherryl Crow and being part of a small audience that included Kelly Preston, Tracy Ullman and the evening's honoree, Meryl Streep. Yes I rubbernecked along with the rest of the crowd thus making my oft-repeated rant about the dangers inherent in our “celebrity culture” more than slightly suspect. Yes, for one evening, I was a total hypocrite.

I feel better for having confessed and thank you for your patience.

CHEC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public, specifically parents and caregivers, about environmental toxins that affect children's health. CHEC was founded by Nancy and Jim Chuda, to honor the life of their daughter Colette. Colette died at age 10 from a form of cancer almost certainly connected to her Mother's exposure to pesticides while she was pregnant.

Out of this tragedy, these grief stricken parents created this wonderful organization to help all parents and all children. From the CHEC website, a quote from the Chuda's:

“Of course, at the time we had all we could do just to survive the overwhelming loss. We were dazed. But the seed of an idea was planted; one that has actually helped us over time transform our pain into a hope that we can do something to help others avoid what we went through.”

You can learn much more – and do a “diagnostic” on your own home – by visiting http://www.checnet.org/index.asp I also recommend their video “Not Under My Roof – Protecting Your Baby from Toxins at Home” for your family or as a great baby gift.

It was an inspiring evening and as I winged my way back to Colorado , I thought about the Chudas and other examples of people who have experienced really terrible events and chose to convert their pain into something positive and of value to others.

What can we learn from these “real life heroes” about how we handle our problems – big or small – and how can use “events” in our lives as stepping-stones instead of allowing those events to “stop” us.

The philosophy we've expressed in our seminars is that “events are just events – once they happen, you can only choose your response:

•  What belief will you form or reinforce as a result of the event?

•  What emotion will you feel?

•  What behaviors will you choose?

•  What will the consequences be of those beliefs/feelings/behaviors?

•  What will the impact be on you and others?

I'll come back to these questions in Balance Point's Extraordinary Living Action Steps. Now some wise words and a word from our sponsor.

An extraordinary resource to me and to thousands of others is Robert Middleton and Action Plan Marketing. Robert's primary target is helping independent professionals market their services. My own experience is that if you're selling anything, you can benefit from his advice. He offers one of the best, if not THE BEST, free eZine with usable marketing tips galore. You can learn more and subscribe, if you like, at:

http://www.actionplan.com/

If you can accept the premise that we can't control events but we can make choices about our resulting beliefs, feelings, actions, consequences and actions, then the following guidelines might be very useful in living an extraordinary life:

• WAKE UP!!! This is the “A” in our corporate name and philosophy. Your expanding Awareness allows you to gain a richer, deeper understanding of the events in your life. It's only with that awareness that learning and growth can begin. The question “why did this happen to me?” can be asked a whining tone or it can be asked as a genuine inquiry that represents the beginning of an incredible life adventure. It's your choice.
   
• OWN IT 100%!!! Our early socialization, most of our teachers, and our culture of entitlement and victimization all support our reflex to blame someone or something for the events of our life. The real power comes from that “R” in Balance Point's name: Responsibility. This shift in a core belief will do more to change your experience of life than anything I know. It's your choice.
   
• LISTEN AND SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART!!! It pains me to use this deeply flawed man's actions as an example and yet it so powerful: One of our nation's true tragedies was the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the resultant loss of 168 lives. Then President Bill Clinton clearly “listened” to what was needed and wanted and then spoke “from the heart.” He helped all of us begin the path of healing and completion. We all can learn from his example as we handle the events of our lives. We can truly communicate. (Notice I finally worked in that “C” in Balance Point's name.) It's your choice.

To my knowledge, we've all only got one go-around in this physical form we call “life.” Events “happen.” It seems strategically sound to learn how to better handle them and, as Jim and Nancy Chuda and many others have shown the way, even use those events to do some real good in the world.

Wishing you an Extraordinary Life and Extraordinary Organizations,

Robert

Robert White
Balance Point

P. O. Box 40405
Denver , CO 80204
Phone: 1-425-803-0303
E-mail: Robert@BalancePointInternational.com

http://www.BalancePointInternational.com

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