Trade Up! 5 Skills for Redesigning Your Leadership & Life from the Inside Out

photo credit: craig neal

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What is the compelling future that is worthy of my life? What is the compelling future that leads me to want to 'Trade Up'"? These are just two questions that pioneer and author Rayona Sharpnack left us with at the end of a most engaging conversation.

Listen here: http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P52018f800871402b01c09c8e3cdcac9aYFh9R1REYGB9&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=FFFFFF&pc=666666&kc=009900&bc=CCCCCC&brand=1&player=ap26

Speaking to her new book, Trade Up! 5 Skills for Redesigning Your Leadership & Life from the Inside Out, Rayona began with another profound question: "For the sake of what?" For Rayona, it is for the sake of leaving the world a better place than she found it.

It's for living into a life filled with grace and ease and flow, as a path for herself, and a model for others.

The question for each of us is: for the sake of what do I want to enter the inquiry that begins the journey of trading up? If you consider that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of what you do with it, then the context begins to focus on what you do with it.

Rayona invited us to move forward, toward manifesting our visions and being a catalyst for others, but with the following context of leadership: that the only time leadership is relevant is when it's time to change the status quo. And that change happens best in community: that a leader has listened, and then speaks and evokes action around a compelling future. Not THE compelling future, but a future that has been co-created, which creates engagement, empowerment, fulfillment for those participating.

For some of us on the call tonight, we began "trading up" as we listened to Rayona's words and intention. Many thanks to Rayona for her generosity of spirit and courage to bring forth her book, and continue to be in the world as a pioneer for transformation.

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A New Voice of Business

photo credit: craig neal

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Elliot Hoffman & Meredith Beam, co-founders of New Voice ofBusiness, brought a rich conversation of creating a truly new voice of business to the January Thought Leader Gathering.  What is the larger frame that we’re working within at NVB? Were out to build A TRUE MARKET ECONOMY. Telling truth to the marketplace. Bringing integrity to the marketplace.

Gary Malkin started our day with a beautiful song… “we’re made of hope and a wisp of stars, do you remember who we are?” After Stringing the Beads, we heard from Elliot and Meredith of their knowing and big vision.

Questions from the 56 participants were also rich:

• If we believe that business is a key lever for change, what are we willing to do now to build this new voice?
• To have a new voice, we also need to have a new style of listening, to bring everyone together (no matter political and religious affiliation).
• Will the group have more impact through driving creation of new ideas or aggregating support behind great existing or external ideas?
• How will we make everyone feel included? Some/many don’t feel they’re business people- teachers, artists, construction, science, government, etc.
• What will it look like when you (and we) are successful in engaging business (social entrepreneurial networked) people? What do you see happening? What will it feel like? What will people be saying and doing?

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TLG: "When love starts happening, you can melt the snow."

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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"When love starts happening, you can melt the snow." -David Sibbet

The Artistry of Leadership: The Role of Design, Participation & Community. Heartfelt thanks to David and the TLG community for a remarkable session last Friday. Every part of the morning was thoughtful (Welcome from Constance, Lori's poem: Download UnPopularMountain-TLG.pdf, Pam's "Report from the Field," and, last but not least, David's remarks).

David commented that the title of the TLG had been "working" him. "Am I an artist? I was thinking I was a designer. And, what is the participation part? What is the leadership part? What has been coming up for me around those two: I have a problem with the term "leadership"...

Instead of leadership (an individual endeavor), we need to prepare people for governance (a community endeavor). It is an assumption that it is a group activity—you govern with circles and committees. We have mental models about things we don’t understand, about how things connect. Being organized is about people sharing ideas about how things connect."

Why is participation and community a true part of leadership? For a leader to not to involve people is to exclude the richest part of being in an organization. The deep artistry is making these things—systems and operating systems—explicit so that people know how to engage and contribute.

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The 21st Century storyteller

photo credit: craig neal

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Our VisionHolder, Leif Utne, joined us last night to share his journey from student activist in the 80s, to journalist and online community pioneer. As an editor and online webmaster for Utne Reader, he had his finger on the pulse of the emerging culture and now is helping launch Quantum Shift TV, argueabley "YouTube with a conscience".

QuantumShift TV is a web video network focused on solutions, from global warming to human rights, education to economics, medicine, technology, design, and more. With both original and user-generated content from socially-responsible businesses, non-profits, and independent producers, QuantumShift TV helps you to be the change and share the story.

Listen here: http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=Pa8cbacaf6f44b1fa9e1d5c31c46bbcacYFh9R1REYGF1&buffer=5&shape=6&fc=FFFFFF&pc=666666&kc=009900&bc=CCCCCC&brand=1&player=ap26

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Heartland Happy Hour - Thank You!

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Dear Heartland Members and Friends,

Last evening’s  Minnesota HAPPY HOUR at the IN Wunderbar was truly a family gathering. Over 70 people attended by night’s end. Check out the photos below and  If you weren’t able to attend, keep your eyes open for the next HH in May.

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This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called Heartland Happy Hour 1/9/08.

We took some great photos! Click on the link above to see some of our photos on Flickr.

Thank you all!

Patricia, Craig, Cindy, Maureen
952-925-5995

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A New Year Message from the Neals

photo credit: craig neal

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Dear Ones

We wonder how you are during this time of short days and long nights reflecting and gestating on the warmth and light to come. We are with you often in our dreams, seeing your face across the campfire and know the poetry in your heart. This poem came to us recently, stimulating once again to ask "what is my life for the sake of.."

We would love you to share your reflections on the year past and the one to come. What is the yearning in your heart and belly for the journey forward.

So write,either below or via email and we'll post on the Journal here.

Craig & Patricia

FOR OUR WORLD

Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

We need to stop.

Just stop.

Stop for a moment....

Before anybody

Says or does anything

That may hurt anyone else.

We need to be silent.

Just silent.

Silent for a moment....

Before we forever lose

The blessings of songs

That grow in our hearts.

We need to notice.

Just notice.

Notice for a moment...

Before the future slips away

Into ashes and dust of humility.

Stop, be silent, and notice.....

In so many ways, we are the same.

Our differences are unique treasures.

We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts

To nurture, to offer, to accept.

We need to be.

Just be.

Be for a moment....

Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,

Like children and lambs,

Never judging or vengeful

Like the judging and vengeful.

And now, let us pray,

Differently, yet together,

Before there is no earth, no life,

No chance for peace.

September 12, 2001

Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

"Hope Through Heartsongs

http://www.resonance.to/

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