The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water.

The lake is a mirror, serene & deep, hiding mysteries beneath its calm surface. When our mind is still, the loveliness of the lake reflects within. The lakes & the mountains have become my landscape, my real world. There’s nothing quite like a sunset by the lake to remind us that our world is still beautiful. “Find a calm lake & wait for the twilight in silence! There, existence will visit you with all its magnificence” – Mehmet Murat ildan. Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water. 

Water is everything music aspires to be – expressive, ethereal, evolving & emotional. Classical music & water have an amazing artistic, creative connection. Music inspired by water abounds in classical music. 19-20th century saw a movement of impressionism in music with vibrant & vivid depictions of water. Water is reflected as a metaphor for emotion, movement, mystery, fluidity & spirituality. These beautiful pieces evoke the flowing, shimmering & powerful nature of water.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water. 

“There’s something beautiful about water, that solitary kind of peaceful feeling. You’re on earth but not quite” – John C. Reilly

“I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding” – John O’Donohue

“I have seen the sea when it is stormy & wild, when it is quiet & serene, when it is dark & moody. And, in all these moods, I see myself” – Martin Buxbaum

“I understand that everything is connected, that all roads meet & that all rivers flow into the same sea” – Paulo Coelho

“When we do things from our soul, we feel a river moving in us, a joy” – Rumi

“When I sit here by the sea & listen to the sound of the waves, I feel free from all the pain & obligations of this world” – Henry Thoreau

“In order to reflect, think & plan, we must quiet ourself. We can’t see our reflection in churning waters. Water must be still to see our reflection”- Karen Susman

“Always be like water. Float in the times of pain or dance like waves along the wind which touches its surface” – Santosh Kalwar

“Let the mind flow like water. Face life with a calm, free & quiet mind – Thich Thien An

“A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence” – Jim Watkins

“Going with the flow is responding to the cues from the universe. When we go with the flow, we’re surfing life force. It’s about wakeful trust & total collaboration with what’s showing up for us” – Danielle LaPorte

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When we plunge our hands into it, all we feel is a gentle caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop us” – Lao Tzu

“Water is critical for sustainable development, environmental integrity, the alleviation of poverty & hunger. It is indispensable for human health & well-being” – United Nations

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water. 

Poems Of The Sea is an awesome anthology of classic poetry that celebrates the sea, from the power of a stormy ocean to the ships, sailors & beaches strewn with shells. For generations, poets have taken inspiration from water, from the ocean mists & rugged coastlines to conjure up adventures on the high seas or joyous days at the seaside.

From Emily Dickinson’s morning dog walks by the shore, to the river running through Sara Teasdale’s sunny valley, from Walt Whitman’s fish-filled forests, to the silent ships passing in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s dark ocean, really precious poems to cherish. Incredible expression of emotions stirred by water.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water. 

Water is essential to life. While water is plentiful covering 70% of our Earth’s surface, 97% is saline. Unfit to drink or use for irrigating crops. Our world’s fresh water is not equally distributed or accessible. It’s found disproportionately in places where people don’t really live. Humanity has depleted availability of freshwater at a rate of 4.3 trillion cubic meters each year, majority of which goes to agricultural & industrial use.

United Nations Water – 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Climate change is intensifying water shortage. U.N. estimates that 1 in 4 people will live in a country affected by a chronic shortage of freshwater by 2050. World Bank – climate induced reduction in freshwater supply, coupled with an increased demand will reduce the availability of water by 66% in 2050.

Microsoft’s Pledge & Strategy – Water Positive

By 2030, Microsoft has vowed to be water positive. The company will replenish more water than it consumes. A very meaningful & practical initiative. Hope more businesses pledge active support, take measurable actions to protect our nature’s most precious asset. Water is life. Clean water protects our health & wellbeing. Pure water is our world’s first & foremost natural medicine. “If there is magic on our planet, it is contained in water” – Loren Eiseley.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – water. 

“Nothing in our world is as soft & yielding as water” – Laozi. The philosophy of water is a rich & multifaceted concept that appears across cultures. It beautifully signifies the virtues of humility, harmony, selflessness & openness. Water is seen as an inspiring model for life because it benefits all without contention, adapts fluidly to circumstances & flows humbly. Water philosophy symbolises qualities like gentleness, honesty, benevolence & strength. Water is associated with depth, mystery, wisdom, beauty & power in its capacity to shape landscapes.

“Water is the driving force of all nature. Tranquility” – Leonardo da Vinci. Water embodies an ethical ideal of serving others & a whole-hearted integration with our environment. Water is the yin energy of empathy, stillness, peace, harmony & fertility. Our mind also moves like water, fluid & present. Still water runs deep & reflects clearly like a calm mind reflects our dreams & aspirations. Water is a lived experience in how we perceive immersion & movement.

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop” – Rumi. Water offers a mystical insight into oneness & the vastness of the self. “Be like water. Empty your mind. Be formless & shapeless. Water does not resist. It just flows” – Bruce Lee.

Water’s strength can erode mountains & flow around obstacles, demonstrating how resilience & passion helps overcome challenges. Water also represents a model for leadership, where the greatest leaders humble themselves to gain enduring respect & influence. There is an incredible interconnection between water & life. “In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans” – Kahlil Gibran.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – teamwork. The bigger the dream, the more important the team!

Dominic Alldis is a wonderful jazz pianist, orchestral conductor & arranger. An amazing business speaker & the founder of Music & Management. He teaches creative improvisations to classical pianists & opera singers.

Music & Management offers innovative learning & engagement events that explore the parallels between music & teamwork. A playful approach involves a live symphony orchestra, a jazz band or a solo piano performance. We discover active listening, leadership, communication & collaboration with a symphony orchestra. We understand the value of passion, playfulness & creativity with a jazz band. We learn how to enhance preparation, planning & performance with a string quartet. Above all, we enjoy the diversity & inclusion with a multi-cultural group to build trust. 

A beautiful integration of learning, teamwork & culture with the universal language of music. Powerful creative experiences that use the metaphor of music to explore a range of teamwork challenges & potential. Music & Management brings awesome analogies between leadership in music & management. Unique. Inspirational.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – teamwork. The bigger the dream, the more important the team!

Read Team Of Rivals. One of the most incredible & influential books, Team of Rivals is the Pulitzer Prize winning author, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1860, William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edward Bates & Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, the rivals were dismayed. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the Presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading to secession & civil war. Lincoln succeeded due to his unmatched humility, exceptional empathy, an accomplished ability & passion for perfection.

An outstanding leadership enabled Lincoln as a President to bring his opponents together to create the most unusual cabinet in history, to marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union & winning the war. We view from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln coped with hostile congressmen & a raucous cabinet. How he surprisingly overcame obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors & in the case of Seward, found a crucial life long friend.

A brilliant biography centred on Lincoln’s mastery of teamwork & how it shaped one of the most significant Presidency in the US history. Creative. Captivating. Inspiring.

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – teamwork. The bigger the dream, the more important the team!

We can build a diverse team based on visible attributes like gender or race. But, it’s still a challenge to unleash that team’s full potential to do great things. Recognising the differences, empathetically uncovering common ground & believing in a shared purpose can bring success. “To get real diversity of thought, we need to find the people who genuinely hold different views & invite them into the conversation” – Adam Grant.

Leaders have social justice goals, wish to win the war on talent to embrace the equity & value-creating possibilities of a diverse workforce. “We have no hope of solving the challenges without harnessing the diversity, the energy & the creativity of all our people” – Roger Wilkins.

Differences offer creative intersections, incredible innovations, substantial growth, enhanced efficiencies & quality problem solving. Leaders can create an environment that encourages differences to thrive for novel insights or unique ideas. Diversity is the art of thinking differently, together. Diversity is the engine of invention. While differences are important, so are similarities. Empathetic communication reveals both commonalities & differences in teams.

Ironically, even teams that honour their differences & similarities can have challenges. What’s important is not the existence of conflict but how the teams resolve it. Cultural sensitivity matters. Teams have tremendous potential. Empowered, motivated, fulfilled & diverse teams do the same things. They just do the same things, differently!

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The blog will pick a word of the week, to share & explore the selected word. Here’s an expression for the word – teamwork. The bigger the dream, the more important the team!

Read Unstoppable Teams. Navy SEAL commander & founder of Perfect Fitness, Alden Mills reveals how to create teams that accomplish objectives in the face of insurmountable obstacles, stay resilient in the darkest hours by leveraging an unexpected set of values & priorities. 

Teams excel due to their community spirit, clarity of purpose, belief in goals & empathic environments. Teams are nothing more than a series of inter-connected relationships with a collective with a singular focus. Success never depends on individual talent. We need to build a strong foundation for oneself. Then, we use that foundation to help others go beyond their individual skills to create something bigger, better, brighter – an unstoppable team. 

Great tips on how to inspire, motivate & lead. Mills draws on stories from his own experiences to impart surprising team-building lessons:

• Many people mistake groups of individuals as a team
• No-one is alike. But, we have the same stimulating drivers – the will to survive, the desire for personal growth, the yearning to be part of something greater than ourselves
• Great ideas or insights aren’t reserved for a select few
• True teams embrace diversity & creativity to find winning ideas
• Thought leadership, trust, communication, collaboration & empowerment brings success

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