Skills For Success
September/October 2001
Yearning for Something More?
Self-Actualization, Oprah and You!
Rosemary L. Azzaro
Marketing Communications Consultant
Creative Contributor, HBA Bulletin
Where were you on the morning of September 11, 2001? Chances are you know of someone who escaped tragedy, was injured, gave his/her life or remains missing. Now, more than ever, we focus on what is dear to us. Perhaps some of these skills offer some new insights for gaining perspective.
If the last years of the twentieth century were about self-indulgence, then the new millennium seems to be starting off as an age of self-actualization. Remember Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” from Psych 101? A physician I know simplifies this theory with the acronym PS LESS: physiologic, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization.
Fortunately, most of us have evolved to the higher end of the Maslow hierarchy of needs. But, in spite of having these basic needs met, are you yearning for “something more” in your personal and professional life?
The “99 Lives” trend stems from the observation that most people today don’t even have time to realize how busy they are. Sound like you? This time deficit makes many people want to simplify their lives and to focus on what’s really important. Popcorn notes that, “Time is the new money: people would rather spend money than time” and that 80% of Americans are looking for ways to simplify their lives.
She describes “Anchoring” as “a reaching back to our spiritual roots, taking what was secure from the past in order to be ready for the future.” Interestingly, Popcorn reports:
- 69% of Americans believe in angels; 49% of them believe they have a guardian angel
- 90% of Americans believe that religion is important
- 72% pray every day
- 40% believe in faith-healing
- 66% of Americans believe in mystical experiences
Finally, “Cashing Out” refers to the growing number of professionals who are questioning personal/career satisfaction and goals and opting for simpler living. Indeed, home-based businesses, which many consider a viable road to work/life balance, are starting at the rate of one every 11 minutes!
“What does the Goddess of Daytime Television have to do with helping HBA members to find something more?” I urge you to read on for some of the self-actualization “Skills for Success” that Oprah and other New Age information gurus offer us by word as well as by example.
Don’t Be Afraid to Take Chances
In 1998, Oprah made a major decision related to the format of her show. Convinced that viewers longed for something more—something positive, inspirational and uplifting—Oprah decided to change her show’s focus to emphasize self-actualization. The risk has paid off. More than 22 million US viewers tune in to Oprah’s show and her expansion into the print market adds an additional 2 million fans as readers of her monthly magazine, O. Her web site, www.oprah.com, has had over 115 million visitors—all in search of information that inspires and suggestions on how to develop one’s passion.
Skills for Success: Lots of adages come to mind, such as “Work the job; don’t let the job work you.” “Do what you love and the money will follow.” Most importantly, the lesson learned here is to have the courage to follow your dreams.
Be a Woman with a Mission
Management consultant Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First, sees the construct of a personal mission statement as a way to cultivate “the passion of vision.” He describes such a mission statement as “a motivating force so powerful it, in effect, becomes the DNA of our lives. It’s so ingrained and integrated into every aspect of our being that it becomes the compelling impetus behind every decision we make. . . . This passion can empower us literally to transcend fear, doubt, discouragement, and many other things that keep us from accomplishment and contribution.”
Did you attend the HBA’s first Women’s Leadership Conference? Speaker and coach, Laura Berman Fortgang, urged attendees at this conference to “Take yourselves to the top.” Her new book, Living Your Best Life: Work, Home, Balance, Destiny: Ten Strategies for Getting from Where You Are to Where You’re Meant to Be, provides a framework for developing a Life Blueprint™. The blueprint will help you recognize and tap into your “inner wisdom” to build a life true to your deepest beliefs and free of the stress that you might now identify with trying to have it all. Berman Fortgang also provides training and support for those who wish to join or launch their own Life Blueprint™ groups. Read her book or visit her web site for more information: www.intercoach.com.
Skills for Success: Use available tools and resources (Covey’s and Berman Fortgang’s books noted above, for example) to develop a personal mission statement or vision. Also, you might want to pick up a copy of Sara Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy—a daily guide to finding “your authentic self.” Finally, try Oprah’s advice: “Pay attention to what makes you feel energized, connected, stimulated—what gives you your juice. Do what you love; give it back in the form of service and you will do more than succeed. You will triumph.”
Share Your Passion
Oprah is an avid reader and has managed to share that passion with her viewers. Overall, she has shared over 44 books with her viewing audience. Indeed, the Book Club helped to catapult the careers of less-established writers like Ruth Hamilton and Wally Lamb, and enlarged the reader base for acclaimed authors like Joyce Carroll Oates and Toni Morrison.
Skills for Success: I find a lot of lessons here. First, read! Reading is great—for fun, profit, and the common good. Are you current in your industry reading? Do you subscribe to a daily paper or enews service? Can you divert your attention from the real world and take some “me time” by curling up with a good book? The more universal skill passed on here is to identify your passions and then to explore the magic that comes from sharing them.
Give Back
With the development of her Angel Network™, Oprah and her viewers have helped more than 1,000 people to find homes, sent 350 students to college, and much more.
As part of a relatively new initiative in collaboration with actor Paul Newman, founder of “Newman’s Own,” and amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, the Network honored individuals with $50,000 “Use Your Life” award. These awards were granted each week during the television season from April, 2000 through June, 2001.
Skills for Success: Charity begins at home. Volunteer your time, talent or treasure to support causes and activities that are dear to your heart. Join an HBA committee; put in some time at your community’s soup kitchen. Think you don’t have time to spare? See Oprah’s hints for finding time for your passion at www.oprah.com and read how one viewer found 20 hours a week to pursue her passion.
Remember Your Spirit
In this era of secularism, it’s amazing that one of the most popular features of Oprah’s show is a segment called, “Remembering Your Spirit.” The segment features vignettes from viewers that extol the human spirit as exemplified in our service to others, our thankfulness for simple blessings, as well as via inspirational stories of risk taking, re-creating and venturing.
Skills for Success: Take time each week, and even each day, to recognize and get in touch with the good things in your life—the embrace of a spouse, the smile of a child, the sunshine streaming through the blinds in your office, the greeting of the cashier on the cafeteria line. Make time for meditation, daily prayer—even a daily joke to lighten your spirit. You can find daily inspiration, motivation and jokes at www.greatday.com/motivate/.
For me, the early fall has always held a special energy, probably because of childhood associations with the new school year. Here’s hoping that this fall finds you recharging your batteries and heading toward a way to have “something more.”
Rosemary L. Azzaro is a marketing communications consultant, avid reader, and information junkie who is in constant search of “something more.” One way she shares her passions is as creative contributor to the HBA Bulletin. She can be reached at razzaro@home.com.