Christmas

I hope that you share and enjoy this holiday season with those you love and that all of your holiday wishes come true. Remember, even a lump of coal is a gift (but I hope you do better than that)! Let’s all keep true to the spirit of the holiday and keep the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts.

Happy Holidays!

Success Is Inside!

As this holiday season comes into full bloom, with only four days left until Christmas and the inevitable aftermath of torn wrapping paper and dirty dinner dishes, I’d like to take a moment to discuss the best Christmas “present” you can give yourself. That present is being present – present in the moment with full attention and intention, not living with an eye on the past or looking to the future. It means living fully in the current moment – whether that moment is with your family, friends, legal nurse consulting business or attorney-clients.

As many of you already know, I have a morning tradition of waking up to two cups of healthy green tea. With the first cup, I take time to enrich my soul, set my intention for the day and, more importantly, give myself the present of starting the day by being present. This practice helps to prepare me for the upcoming frenzy and, while it doesn’t guarantee my day will be stress-free, it does guarantee that I’m better equipped to deal with the madness.

So buy yourself or your loved ones a Christmas gift – the present of being present. Here are three different resources that can help give you, or your loved ones, the present of being present.

The first is A Course In Miracles by Dr. Helen Schucman, a text that has the power to change your daily practices of living, learning, loving and meditating through a series of lessons and exercises. It’s not an easy read and is one of the most challenging books I have ever read, but if your mind is open it can transform all your relationships, whether spiritual or physical.

Second is Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long by Jeffrey Brantley and Wendy Millstone. What I love about this resource is that while everyone may not be willing to get up early enough to have two cups of tea, anyone can find five minutes in their morning. This is a quick and easy way to train yourself to become present and start your day with calm.

My final recommendation is Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron. I must admit I was first attracted to this book by the title, and being familiar with Pema’s other works, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up. It’s a great way to learn how to use meditation as a way of life, not just a practice.

Life is challenging enough without taking time for ourselves. Reading any one of these books won’t change your life immediately – think of them as seeds that will help you grow into all that you are meant to be. Give yourself the present of being present this Christmas and in the New Year.

Success Is Inside!

This holiday season everyone has different wishes, hopes and expectations. Children experience Christmas so differently than we adults do. Sharing the joy of a child at Christmas is one of the most beautiful things I’ve experienced. Especially when they get the one gift they’ve always wanted their entire lives.

This year I hope you receive, if not everything you want, at least the one thing you want most!

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Comment and share the one thing you want most.

To be happy in a million ways

No man must stand alone with out-stretched hand before him

Let your heart be light

Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile

Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun

A swell time to go gliding in a one-horse open sleigh

Jingle bells all the way

A bag filled with toys

All is merry and bright

Laughing all the way

Gone away is the blue bird, here to stay is a new bird

Time to rock the night away

Snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree

Homemade pumpkin pie

Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright

Let it snow

To be a child again

Making spirits bright

Angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold

Peace on earth, good will to men

Joy to the world

Love and peace this day

Although it’s been said many times many ways:

Merry Christmas to You!

Success Is Inside!

At the Vickie Milazzo Institute annual Christmas party we have three very inexpensive holiday traditions that bring us together.

Our first tradition is that each person brings four colored strips of paper. On two strips of one color, we each write two personal accomplishments that we’re proud of this year. It can be anything from something simple such as “I learned a new web-editing software” to something as complex as “I learned the administrative system for the Customer Management System software and created the new instruction manual.” It’s a great chance for everyone to “flaunt their stuff.” We all do things every day that no one but ourselves know about. Some are simple, some are complex and some are just unbelievable. This way everyone gets recognition for at least two personal accomplishments and we’re all allowed to go over that limit (as much as modesty allows). I think the record for someone who I won’t name was seven!

On the two other different-colored strips, we each write a company accomplishment, such as creating our online CLNC^® education program, virtualizing our server environment (guess who wrote that one) or making the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies again.

We go around the table at our holiday party and alternate with each person reading a personal accomplishment and the next reading a company accomplishment. Each strip of paper is passed to my assistant who creates a chain of alternating colors. No repeats are allowed for company accomplishments and we go until they’re all done.

The best part about this tradition is that we’re reminded of things that we’ve forgotten and people are recognized for their contributions. Every holiday season we decorate our conference room with these chains that just keep growing longer each year.

Our second tradition is that we each receive a business card Word^® template which has the first name of each Institute staff member on a card. On those we anonymously type a “nice thought” about that staff member. It can be anything you want to compliment that person on, such as “You’re always willing to lend a hand when I’m overwhelmed,” “You’ve had great input in our brainstorms this year” or “You’re the best in handling student requests.”

Two of my favorites about Tom from this year are: “You are an asset to this company not only for your contributions but you are a great example of dedicated work with a balance of fun. You have an amazing attitude and accessibility to us all even though your day may be a hectic enduring deadline. Thank you for your graciousness to remember our likes and taking measures to show us your acknowledgment of those.”

“Not just Vickie’s right arm; everybody’s right arm! I know our nurses love Tom and so do we. His talents are amazing and he is a complete pleasure to work with…when you can catch him!”

This tradition is easy and fun to do and it makes you think about each person’s contribution (like Tom’s) to your organization. These nice-thoughts cards are separated and secretly put into small containers by my assistant and placed at each person’s seat before the party. I must say, if later in the year I’m feeling low or having a moment of doubt, I’ve been known to pull out my stack of nice-thoughts cards and review them. They never fail to brighten up my day and put a smile back on my face.

Our third tradition is our “Guess Who This Christmas Ornament Represents” game where we draw names and buy or create a Christmas tree ornament that represents the person whose name we’ve drawn. This can, and often does, get a little spicy. It’s always fun with terrific laughs guaranteed. Sometimes it can be really hard to guess! And I often learn something new about many members of our team.

What I really like about the accomplishments and nice-thoughts traditions are how easily they can be applied to any Certified Legal Nurse Consultant’s business traditions. Your own chain of business and personal accomplishments can fuel your future successes. Your collective accomplishments are much more than you remember at a given time and this is a great way to save them for posterity. This is something you can also do with your staff, attorney-clients, CLNC^® subcontractors or vendors and it’s especially fun to do with your family.

We all contribute and we all create memorable accomplishments. Don’t just sit on your laurels, use them as stairs to the next level. If you ever need a quick boost or some high-octane encouragement, revisiting past successes and using them to fuel future accomplishments is a terrific way to drive you to higher and higher levels of success.

Success Is Inside!

This morning, while having my cup of healthy green tea, I looked over and found Tom reading a hardback copy of Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope. After the double-take, I asked him where he’d found it and he told me “on your bookshelf.” Then I remembered, all the books on the bookshelf I’ve talked about in my earlier blog are ones that we’ve read and, for whatever reason, have decided to keep. They’re paperbacks, hardbacks, a few legacy books, novels, biographies, travel books, fiction, science fiction (Tom), history, one on gardening that must have been a gift and my book Inside Every Woman published in English, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian and Chinese (Soon to be joined by the Korean version!).

The book Tom was reading came from another set of bookshelves, one in the closet of my home office where I keep a different array of books. The closet contains my law books, my published works on legal nurse consulting, medical references and most importantly, all the books that we haven’t yet read. You know, the ones you get for birthdays, Christmas or just buy and put up to read later. We’re voracious readers and even more voracious book buyers.

I asked Tom what he thought about the Trollope book and he told me it was pretty good – he’d read half the book and he was enjoying it even without a single terrorist being blown up. That made me think, what sort of books are you reading? Do you ever read books outside your own favorite genre? Or do you get stuck in the rut of reading one type of book just like you do with your morning cereal – rarely a change in variety, just different portion sizes.

As Certified Legal Nurse Consultants we’re busy. I know one CLNC^® consultant who reads nothing but murder mysteries and another who rarely reads for fun at all. I believe that it’s essential for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to read a rich and varied diet. Just as you can’t feed a thoroughbred horse a diet of potato chips and expect him to win the Kentucky Derby, you can’t feed your mind a steady diet of nothing but trash novels or People magazine and expect to perform to your best ability. The books we read influence not just our thoughts but our way of thinking, the things we concern ourselves with and where we apply our ultimate energy and efforts.

I have three books on my night stand. One is for my emotional and spiritual development and two are for pure relaxation. My business books are banned from the bedroom and live only in my office.

Take a moment to look at your own bookshelves or your bed stand. What books are in your personal library? Was the last book you read something that enriched your legal nurse consulting business or you personally, something that challenged your mind or just a fun read?

Is it time to stretch your tastebuds?

Success Is Inside!

Merry Christmas! I wish for each of you to receive the glorious gifts of the season – Peace, Joy and Lasting Happiness. My special regard and gratitude to all nurses and Certified Legal Nurse Consultants.

Life is meant to be good!