Week 22.42 Radiance

There is a lot of noise in the world vying for our attention. There are global issues, national issues, local issues, and personal issues that can overwhelm us. These problems are valid and need to be considered and addressed. But every so often, I go for a walk in the park and the light hits the trees just the right way. The temperature feels perfect on my skin, and the air is light on my breath. My mind doesn't wander and is not focused on anything in particular. For a moment, and sometimes longer, I have the luxury of experiencing the radiance of living and the amazing world we live in. This past week I went on such a walk, and I want to share my photos and experiences with you, perhaps to more deeply ingrain it within myself.?

It's the same walk I take daily in Riverside Park near Columbia University in New York City. I walked into the park, and down the path I have taken countless mornings and turned to look at the trees. One tree caught the light just so and stood out in radiance. The leaves were starting their colorful transition from summer into fall and illuminated by a stream of angled early fall light. The brightness of those leaves caught my eye and quickly drew my attention to the larger tree just down the hill, branches outstretched. The elegant interplay of the trees and light caused me to reflect on their relationship. I have been thinking about what it would mean to live in a relationship-first world, and these trees seemed to be fully at peace with each other, sharing light, water, and space. I think Nature is always relationship-first with all things, including me.?

As I continue my walk, I see one of the park lamps illuminated by a beam of sunlight that reaches out through the trees. The splash of light is punctuated by the radiant glow of the fixture. The pool of light on the ground and downward streams of light reveal? particles dancing in the air. The lamp seems to be drawing all the attention, but the other trees around it are playing their roles as well. In a semi-circle to the left, the trees hold a safe space that reminds me of a druid stone circle I recently investigated in Ireland. To the right, a lone pine provides a different point of view from the other taller trees. And a tall pale tree holds space in the foreground, keeping the lamp in perspective while also contributing its own light from the white color of its bark. I am reminded that in our relationships, we each have our own roles to play - none more significant, none lesser, all contributors. At this moment, the light is on the lamp. In another moment, it will be somewhere else.?

Along the path, I come to a tighter stand of trees with only a single shaft of light able to pierce their dense foliage. In another week, the leaves here will be a mix of fiery red and orange. For the moment, it is still dark green, and the light that finds its way to the ground makes me introspective, thinking about my relationship with myself. There is a connection between the light on the ground, the light in the trees, and the light in the sky. The same light illuminates different aspects of the same scene. The leaves on the ground, a moment of a path, a shake of tree branches, and a sliver of the sky are all brought together by this ray of light. I consider that my own radiance is the mix of what I bring and the context and community in which I share it. The light without the sky, trees, and path is not defined. It is brought to life in a unique and distinct way by its interactions with the world.?

My walk is a loop. As I walk back to where I began, I can see the same first stand of trees from a different perspective. The larger tree is currently holding court with the group of trees below, and the radiant tree, still illuminated, draws my eye deeper into the background. There are splashes of light everywhere; it brightens the ground, flashes in the trees, and highlights some modest bushes. These moments with Nature are my teacher. The world seems complex and invasive too much of the time. And then, from time to time, we are reminded how beautifully simple it can be. In a relationship-first world, we are not the sole radiance. We contribute our radiance in connection with others, creating a new, more fantastic world. In life and leadership, we have an opportunity in each moment to put relationships first, nurture growth in ourselves and others, and create radiance - together.

You, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How to Show Up As One!)by?Morag Barrett,?Eric Spencer, and ?Ruby Vesely Now Available!

Every Batman needs a Robin: Move from me to we with the Ally Mindset. In today’s age of Zoom calls and hybrid workplaces, how can leaders foster relationships that allow everyone to succeed? A trio of best friends and leadership consultants at SkyeTeam have the surprising answer: workplace success starts by being a friend. Meet the Ally Mindset, a model for proactive, thoughtful work relationships. As you heal adversarial relationships and strengthen weaker ties, you’ll find that when you have best friends at work―colleagues who have your back―you thrive. Using personal stories, science-backed insights, and valuable lessons from clients including Google, the National Geographic Society, and Microsoft, the authors explore the five key parts of the Ally Mindset and demonstrate how to apply them to your relationships. You, Me, We?provides ample evidence for how adopting the Ally Mindset increases happiness, incentivizes collaboration, and improves business outcomes. Because to have a best friend at work, you need to be a best friend at work.

The First Turkish Car: How a Project can transform a Country by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

Antonio believes projects are more than just a method to deliver new products or introduce changes;?projects can - and should - be used to reinvent ourselves, create future organizations, increase motivation and engagement, and regenerate countries and society at large. On 15 May 1961, Turkish President Gürsel addressed the Automotive Congress: "A country must manufacture its vehicles. We must first manufacture a few parts; then, as technology advances, we can manufacture 70 to 80 percent of them. Some people believe that it is not feasible to manufacture vehicles in Türkiy. This notion is the result of dark minds. Türkiy has many industrial sectors that encourage us." Even though many people, from academia to the press, believed that neither an automobile nor a motor could be built in Türkiy; a group of engineers, highly experienced in locomotive manufacturing, passionately sought to become the pioneers of the Turkish automotive industry by producing the country's first indigenous car. In this article, Antonio shares a fabulous story showing how an incredible project - that could be considered a failure - triggered the development of the automotive industry in Türkiy.

Are You Climbing the Wrong Hill? by Whitney Johnson

It is hard—excruciatingly difficult at times—for ambitious people to forgo the nearby upward step,?even when they know it’s not the right hill.?One of the seven accelerants for growth—the tools that help you increase the speed at which you climb an S Curve—is?step back to grow.?Sometimes, to disrupt yourself, you may have to take a few steps back or sideways to ultimately move forward.? Computer science has taught us that you have very low odds of finding the highest hill if you only move in one direction.? When you find the highest hill—when you realize your dream is to write a fiction novel—stop wasting your time climbing the current hill—take the time to find the hill you want to climb. And, if you find a higher hill—it’s very possible my daughter will—then stop climbing and move hills once again.