Is YOUR Genius at Work?

Really - is your genius ... your higher self, your guiding light, your heart of hearts ... at work in your life? Or, once you discover it, can you really put it to work at work?

These were some questions we explored here in Fargo on Tuesday and Wednesday at the third annual Bigger Small Talk Summit and Genius Workshop with the irrepressible Dick Richards and his lovely wife Melanie.

I learned a lot about myself over the past week ... things I probably SHOULD have known but either forgot or just didn't put together. Things like the distinction (if there is one) between religious fervor and evangelism and fervor for higher awareness and business effectiveness, and the distinction (if there is one) between motivating someone and inspiring him/her, and trusting intuition to guide me to my genius.

Dick reminded everyone that the concept of genius is a journey of self-discovery, and not an inventing of new entity. We learned about different cultures and spiritual traditions and their definitions of "genius" and how "genius" differs from "purpose."

The genius workshop provided a chance for people from all careers and those building new careers to examine their current worklives and get some ideas for bringing their natural power and energy to their work, whatever their work may be. Dick calls that natural power and energy genius.

The energy in the room when people are allowed an entire day to explore, uncover, contemplate, share, and be with others with similar intentions is probably something few of us actually get a chance to experience on a regular basis.

Dick's wonderful style and guidance allowed people space to work on their own genius discovery process, but also pushed us to go just a little deeper beyond what our past conditioning would want us to come up with and uncover what is already there waiting to be discovered.

Tuesday was also a wonderful day as people gathered in Open Space to create dialogues with others about topics that matter to them. We supported each other in achieving plans of action that have been tapping at the door of our consciousness for a long time, but which just haven't ever made it to the world. It was a safe space to explore new ideas and call up old ones and declare them to a group and get some accountability to begin acting on those dreams and plans. The last session of the day was a singout, led by the fabulous Barbara McAfee. We learned African tribal songs and sang together and it was magical.

Plans are underway for the Fourth Annual Bigger Small Talk Summit in Fargo in mid-June 2010. If you're searching for something but you're not sure what it is, either in your work life or in any other aspect of your life, you just may find it in Fargo next summer.

See you here!

Thursdays With Jodee - 3 (Friday edition)

Yesterday's post was delayed because of travel - so here it is a few hours late!

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week's dialogue about favorite teachers. We heard from Tracy and Deb who had very interesting recollections about the people who made a difference in their lives. Tracy said:

I recognize that the teachers that stand out in my own history are those that recognized my uniqueness and strove to bring those qualities out in me and allowed me to be an individual in a world full of sheep in flocks. They knew I would never be happy marching to someone else's drum and showed me ways to dance to my own music.

And from Deb, who leads training sessions now, we learned of three of her favorite teachers.

All three of these teachers knew their topic well, told stories as a way of connecting, made the topic relevant, and brought a passion to the topic that spurred me on to continue learning in those areas for the rest of my life.

So this week, the question will be the same question I submitted to Raj Setty's blog Life Beyond Code, which he calls a Quoght (a question which provokes thought):

Where in your life might the fear of criticism be greater than your desire for success (however you would define that)?

So, I guess I need to answer the question first. It is only in retrospect that I'm able to see the results of that question in my own life. Since I learned of and named my genius in December (thanks again, Dick!), it's been much easier for me to give up the fear of criticism. My genius is "Inviting Dialogue," and there have been many, many times in jobs and also in relationships where I haven't said what I really believed for fear of being rejected or ostracized or criticized. I can remember being in fourth grade and asking my teacher why sometimes there were 2 lines through the S of the dollar sign and sometimes there was 1 line and my teacher giving me an exhausted sigh, implying not to ask so many questions. At home I remember my mom's standard answer to my many questions being "look it up."

I understand now - and thanks to those experiences - that I have many, many resources in which to look up answers to my many questions - and that it's OK to ask questions as long as my intention is to invite dialogue ("dialogue" being suspending assumptions for the purpose of learning something).

As I've learned to step into my power and to be who I am, I realize that success doesn't have to be daunting thing (I can redefine success to be joy and fulfillment instead of being a standard to live up to) and I have much more joy in my own life when I don't worry about - and don't take personally - other people's comments or actions. If my intentions are joyful and loving, I have no fear of criticism anyway!

How about you??

Dick Richards Endorses The 100% Factor!

Dick Richards over at Come Gather Round has so graciously offered his take on my book The 100% Factor: Living Your Capacity. Here is a taste of Dick's review:

"Jodee’s suggestions and checklists reinforce another key message of the book: knowing the stuff isn’t enough, it is what we do with what we know that truly matters. She summarizes this in what has become my favorite passage in the book:

By stepping into your own personal power, you can celebrate your own authentic beingness and support others in doing and being the same for themselves. Live the life you’ve been blessed with.

Amen."

I feel very fortunate to have connected with Dick when I first began blogging back in 2004 and even more fortunate to have met him at the Genius workshop I attended in Minneapolis in December. Putting a name to my genius has given me an added dimension in my training and coaching I couldn't have provided to my clients before. If you haven't read Dick's books yet (especially Is Your Genius At Work), I'd highly recommend you put that on your 2007 reading list!