Hello Leader,

The elixir of living is learning. At the end of each week you reflect on what you've learned and realize you are better. You've grown. Gained new insights. Developed new capabilities. You evolved in your capacity to meet and turn challenges into opportunities. This is learn-ability: the ability to distill and apply learning. You demonstrate that the contribution and value you bring today exceeds what you were able to bring yesterday. You differentiate by distilling and applying new knowledge. The people in your life come to trust that you bring new insights, ideas and capabilities to the table. They know that when you are around they will continue to grow. They experience you in the context of becoming better themselves. Here are key learnings from my recent engagements. They helped me and can help you grow as we collaborate and work together.

Listen to our podcast about Momentum Learning and the elixir of life. Please forward this KEY to friends, family and associates.

Sincerely,

Aviv Shahar

Momentum Learning

  1. Momentum - Momentum begets momentum. It builds its own gravitational pull and continues to grow. Momentum creates its own results and draws its own dynamics of success. As it reaches escape velocity it transforms everything it touches. Momentum creates game-changing magnetism that accelerates and validates itself. We see this in business, on the soccer and football fields and we've seen this in Tahrir Square.
  2. Change - We live in times of tremendous change. To grow and thrive you must allow change inside you. Lead by demonstrating continual update and renewal and by being prepared to transform and evolve on the inside. Resisting change makes you brittle. Discover and put into place the few permanent things that will hold true. Anchor yourself in these truths and use this anchor of strength to soar as you embrace change, spread your wings and discover a greater freedom.
  3. Ambiguity - The promised land of breakthroughs is hidden on the continent of the unknown and the ambiguous. New ideas, opportunities and breakthroughs are ready to show up as you reach the point of not knowing. The river of creativity and innovation flows from the cliff of the unknown, the invisible and the unconscious. Remember that developing comfort with swimming in this river takes practice. Ambiguity is easier to live with when you know your purpose and yourself.
  4. Seeing the case - We all have biases. Biases come from upbringing and experience, from personal inclinations and preferences. Biases stand between you and the situation you are in. They prevent you from seeing things for what they are. As you remove and neutralize these filters and preconceived judgments, you begin to see the case for what it is and that earns you the ability to influence and help. Neutralizing and removing biases is an act of liberation. Seeing the situation you are in for what it is liberates it and liberates you.
  5. Respect - Respect yourself. Begin with the golden rule at home. Treat yourself the way you would have others treat you. You work hard to help people and create value. You must not forget you. If you do not respect your needs, your point of view and your contribution, others will follow your lead and not respect you either.
  6. Purpose - Your time here is purposeful. You are purposeful. Your work is purposeful. Purpose is not just something far away at the top of the mountain. Purpose is here. Purpose is now, in how you do your work. In how you live your life. You must live the life of purpose here and now. Do not delay purpose.
  7. New pathways - Every day as you get up you have a choice. Do you follow the same sure and safe pathways or do you create new ones? Your brain is hungry for new pathways. It loves the stimulation of new learning and it loves its own plasticity and capacity to generate synaptic growth. Allow for new brain pathways. Create new pathways in your life.
  8. Being open - Be open to seeing things anew. Look forward to being surprised and delighted. I am writing this note after takeoff from (CVG) Cincinnati. My previous five takeoffs here were into clouds but today is a gorgeous day. For the first time I see during our liftoff the beauty of the Ohio River as it carves its way through the city. I get a different perspective of the city. I sense the history of this place and the people that worked hard and built this place. What they must have felt? How they struggled and found courage and forbearance? I open myself to these thoughts and feelings and a deeper appreciation of the layers of effort and work that made all that I see possible.
    9. I see how the people living here today all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I let myself take in this nourishing appreciation and the feeling of continuity. It provides me succor, strength and a deeper sense of the aspirations of the people I work with. I feel the invisible bond we create with those who were before us and with the future and what is to come. As the airplane climbs, I feel open to fully sense and take in this majestic uplifting view. Those who came before us made a difference. Their work made the here and now possible. The legacy they left summons us to be stewards of better tomorrows ourselves. We are part of a greater momentum and a covenant of future possibilities that we must fulfill.

Now it's your turn. Turn the Key. Create your Momentum Learning of change, purpose and respect. Find a new openness to see things for what they are and for what they can become. Enjoy the elixir of living. Become an elixir yourself. Create the future for you and for your organization and your people.

© Aviv Shahar