Grounded by Bob Rosen

Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted in an Uncertain World by Bob Rosen

Genre: Leadership and Business

            Life is a series of interconnecting points.  People, places, and actions come and go, converging and diverging at different seasons of life.  Every once in a while a book crosses your path at the perfect time, it’s wisdom converging with your strive to learn at just the right time and place.  Grounded was that for me.

            The lessons from Grounded are not the smoothest nor the most original, but they cut deep to the core of what our world needs: genuine leadership in a chaotic world.

            Genuine leadership is holistic, driven by integrity, and achieved by the emotionally intelligent.  Genuine leadership understands that to lead people, you must first be able to lead yourself.  Genuine leadership is about balance and the ability to view your people as your most valuable asset in achieving success, and not just as cogs in the big corporate machine.

            Grounded is about living a life of curiosity, being authentic to yourself and others, and letting go of ego in favor of confidence.  Confidence not just in yourself but also in others, in what you are trying to achieve, and in the world around you.

            The steady winds of change uproot all of those who are not rooted in strong and well-balanced ground, engaging those around you to grow beyond what even they think they are capable of.

Golden Nuggets:

-       “Your brain becomes accustomed to handling challenges to your emotional life.  It’s like the immune system – it gets stronger as it’s exposed to more challenges and contaminants and while learning to adapt.”  P. 95

-       “If you have a growth mindset, you see life as a journey that requires continual growth along the way.  With this attitude, you seek out new experiences, regularly broaden your knowledge and abilities, and remain open to change and new ideas.” P. 119

-       “With lifelong learning, life becomes an adventure, giving us something to look forward to, a purpose and goal.  It is life with no regrets.”  P. 192

-       “An irony of life is that we all possess a higher purpose, yet many of use have no idea what it is.”  P. 219

Rating: 5/5 Bookmarks

http://bobrosen.com/books/grounded/overview/

Learn Something New

Many of us tossed our learning caps after we tossed our graduation caps for the last time, shedding the oppressor that was homework, and putting away our reading glasses for a spot on the couch.

Perhaps not everyone enjoys learning as I do, but could that be because we are learning what others want us to learn?  The Math, Science, or Social Studies books are a thing of my past, as are many of the "classics" that bore me to tears; yet, other books sweep me off into distant lands, teach me how to live a better life, and inspire me to reach for the stars.  Reading opens your mind and imagination in a way television never can.

Learning doesn't just come from books.  Ever heard the term "if you don't use it you lose it?"  That applies to your brain (read The Brain that Changes Itself if you don't believe me).  Use your brain to learn new things.  Ever wanted to write a book?  Get started now, it doesn't have to be a masterpiece from day one.  Ever wanted to learn a new language?  Duolingo.com is free and easy to use.  Want to write a children's book?  Pick up a pencil or do some sketches.

What do you want to do?  Start today!  It doesn't have to be huge, just a small step today...another tomorrow...then a bigger one the next day...and so on.  In the process you'll learn something new, challenge your brain to not become a vegetable, and improve your life!


Some recommended reads:
Distant Lands
The Hobbit
The Divergent Trilogy
The Hunger Games Trilogy
Anything by James Wesley Rawles
Zombie Survival Guides, Star Wars, or whatever you're into

How to Live a Better Life
Anything by Larry Winget
You're Broke Because You Want to Be
Talent is Overrated

Inspiration
The Way of the Seal
The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace
Fully Alive

The Shack

What is Inclusiveness Anyways?

There is no shortage of definitions in the world and inclusiveness is no exception; however, working from an agreed upon (or disagreed upon) foundation is a great starting point.

My very fluid definition of inclusiveness is as follows:

A long-term operating philosophy that empowers the voices of organizational stakeholders by incorporating their views into the organization’s mission and decision-making processes.