In this edition:
- Leadership Lifts! 5 Lessons Learned on the Slopes!
- Working with a Coach & Dancing With the Stars
- Meet Frederico T. Frog & Win a Vacation for Two to Costa Rica
- How to Stay Young!
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Leadership Lifts! 5 Lessons Learned on the Slopes!
 When I met my husband, Barry he was a fabulous skier. I on the other hand, could not imagine learning a sport in which an Ambulance was waiting for me at the bottom of the mountain! However the man of my dreams gave me powerful motivation to learn. "Rosemary, no problem---I'll just vacation alone each year". Well the thought of my husband with cute ski bunnies on Aspen slopes was enough pain for me to overcome my fear of falling and I immediately "ploughed in" to doing all the right things: First, I bought good equipment, then of course I got the right outfit (at least I would look the part). Finally I took lessons. Let's just say it wasn't pretty! Snow ploughing and falling, the cute ski outfit could not disguise my overwhelming fear and panic and the clumsiness of learning my new sport.
As I remember that first beginner's slope, I think of Everest! Let's forget for a minute that it carried the mild mannered name of Buttermilk. I recall the fear of looking down the mountain and the kids zooming by me, whizzing by the frozen statue I had become. "Aspen's first Snow Woman in Fuscia Ski Pants"
But more than anything I remember the lessons I learned on the slopes that day about leadership and indeed tackling any business or personal challenge.
You see as I stood there frozen, looking down at the mountain before me, I began to do what we all do when faced with the fear and panic of things going badly. I began blaming everything and everybody. "The skis weren't working, the conditions had changed and of course my husband was to blame for making me do this dumb thing to begin with". Fortunately my mate was and is a level headed New Yorker who served as a great coach that day.
"Rosemary, follow my tracks. Your problem is your looking all the way down the mountain---Don't do that! The way you take this mountain is to simply take the very next turn in the mountain by looking across and not down...Just look at the very next turn you need to take." As we progressed our way with every turn, he suddenly shouted as we approach the mid-way point "Stop". My first reaction was I can't stop but he was insistent. "Honey, look back up the mountain and just see how far you've come".
With one look up the mountain my confidence soared. You know, I can still feel the exuberance of that day in Aspen where I tackled a mountain and tackled my fears.
Here are 5 lessons in leadership I "picked up" while falling and learning to ski:
1. Follow the Tracks of a Good Skier! It's much smarter to follow the tracks of those who have gone before you and those who do it well. As a Leader, take the lead and carve the trail for your team to follow.
2. Focus on the Very Next Turn in the Mountain! Looking down at that mountain or project can cause overwhelming fear and panic. Once you have settled on your destination or goal, concentrate your energy on your very next turn in the mountain. In the military they refer to this as "Next Action Thinking". Remember, people who did die in Survival Situations say "Oh No, we're all going to die". People, who very often survive, ask themselves "What's the very next thing I need to do to survive?"
3. Don't forget to look back up the Mountain! Build your confidence and the confidence of your team by not only focusing on what needs to be done but looking back at your accomplishments. They need it and you need it. Nothing is worse than the boss who only focuses on the "to do" list without celebration of milestones. Celebrating accomplishments and progress builds confidence.
4. Falling is Learning: You're not carving new territory if you're not falling on occasion. Businesses can quickly become dinosaurs if they cease to explore new frontiers. As skiing Olympian, Bonnie St. John would say "It's not who falls that matters, it's who gets up faster"
5. Pain is Good! Give this mantra to your team as a reminder in times of challenge or crisis that "they must be learning something" If you think about the greatest growth that occurs in life and business, the greatest inventions in our time, it all begins with pain. I can't say I would want to re-live all of the painful moments in my life, but as I look at those experiences, they have made me stronger and put into perspective other challenges. You think to yourself "I survived the big one" and a shift happens in your thinking. What used to be a major mountain and crisis now seems like a mole hill and you tackle it One Turn at a Time.
Propel your Team and Business on our Go Wild! Go GREAT! ™ Leadership Safari this Summer. Hosted at your location or ours, your team will emerge from this intensive team retreat (1 and 2 day formats) equipped to handle the many challenges of Modern Leadership. Problem Solving and Strategic Thinking, Communication, and Motivation are key topics that are tackled in this fast-paced and fun boot camp.
Bonus: An Environment of Team Fun and Adventure guarantees your group will Go Wild and GO GREAT and return with a Survival Kit of Best Practices in Leadership!
Write us today for your GO WILD! GO GREAT ™ Leadership Safari Kit including a DVD, Safari Invitations for your Team and Retreat Pricing.
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Working with a Coach & Dancing With the Stars
 Like a whole bunch of Americans, I find myself pulled by the latest edition of Dancing with the Stars. I'm not sure if it's watching celebrities usually graceful at their own game, struggle with a new skill in which they are not stars or enjoying the beauty and grace of ballroom dancing.
Maybe it's remembering how I convinced my husband to take Tango Lessons when we moved to Costa Rica. I remember how we disobeyed our instructor's directive to practice before the next lesson and how the results were less than graceful on week two.
Yup to succeed in anything you need a little bit of talent, but I have found it's the Coaching and the Practice that makes all the difference.
It's also the adventurer and explorer in your soul who is willing to fall down and look foolish in order to learn something new. Just love those outtakes on Dancing with the Stars...it shows how in order to dance with elegance on the big night, there's lots of rehearsals. Remember the old joke " how do you get to Carnegie Hall? --- PRACTICE , PRACTICE , PRACTICE !
So remember if you're not falling, you're not learning and don't be afraid to Dance!
Did you know that dancing can teach you how to better communicate with your partner? A Latin Dancing and Communication workshop is just one of the activities on tap at our exciting, Rainforest Romance Adventure: A Romantic Vacation and Retreat For Committed Couples set amidst the tropical beauty of Costa Rica. (Click Here)
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 Meet Frederico T. Frog and Join him on the Journey from Now to WOW!™ in Costa Rica!
Costa Rica’s Tree Frogs are remarkable creatures and thus serve as our emblem of Go Wild! Go GREAT! personal and business transformation. Don’t be misled by Fred T’s handsome good looks.
He can startle would be predators and competitors with his unique talents. Look for some great teachings from Fred T and his friends in the month's ahead.
As Al Gore and Kermit will tell you “It ain’t easy being Green”
Have you or your business gone from Now To WOW? If so, we want to hear your story. We're looking for companies and individuals who have taken a bold leap into new and unchartered territory. We're looking for those who have dreamed and those who have made a difference.
24 corporate and individual finalists will be featured in Rosemary's upcoming book---"Go Wild! Go GREAT! The Journey from Now to Wow"
Tell us your story and enter to win a 1 week all inclusive Safari Vacation for Two in Costa Rica.
Visit gowildgogreat.com and complete our on-line application.
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How To Stay Young - Go Wild! Go GREAT! ™
1. On a tombstone, this epitaph appeared: "Tried everything twice...loved it both times!"
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in
mind if you are one of those grouches.)
3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,
whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's
workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you
have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with
HIM/HER.
6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets,
keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,
improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county,
to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.
Lost time can never be found.
Source: Unknown.
To learn more about Rosemary’s Go Wild Go GREAT! The Journey From Now To WOW! ™
Formulas, visit her website – www.costaricatraining.com or www.gowildgogreat.com
Happy Spring time,
Rosemary
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