September is a month of new beginnings, warm days and cool nights but also a time when we say goodbye to the long, lazy days of summer. What??? Who said lazy days? Seems to me with each passing year summer moves faster and faster as I, in typical female fashion, try to cram more and more into every day. Can I help out on this committee? Check. Serve on that board? Check. Meet someone for coffee? Check. Come in the office early or stay late to spend time with a client in need? Check. Whoa, time to slow down. Say ‘less yes’, my friend Jayla tells me, instead of just saying ‘no’.
 
If this sounds like your own over-committed calendar maybe you, like I, need to prioritize in terms of what is really meaningful in life. Give up on the concept of ‘balance’ between personal and professional life and strive for ‘harmony’ instead. How lovely, I think to myself. So my goal is to harmonize all the various to do’s pulling me in multiple directions on a daily basis. Am I always successful? Not at all but I am more aware and thoughtful in filling my daily calendar. How can I positively impact others through my actions? Is there a child who needs some encouragement? A young woman taking tentative steps in her career who might benefit from my experience having ‘been there and done that’? Sometimes just a word or two can make all the difference.
 
Allow me to share some inspirational quotes from one of my favorite authors, Anna Quindlen:
 
“Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. That’s what I have to say. The second is only a part of the first”.
 
“You cannot be really first-rate at your work if your work is all you are”.
 
“Think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived”.
 
“All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough.”
 
As we send kids back to school and get refocused on careers let us pause to reflect on our choices in life especially as we approach the eighth anniversary of 9/11. May we never forget the great loss of life on that terrible day but, instead, let it inspire us to do good.

“Thinking outside the box” is an often used terminology in business to encourage creative thinking and consideration of alternative ways to achieve goals or accomplish tasks. It requires an open mind, and often times courage, to challenge the norm and look at situations from a fresh perspective. Not just businesses, but individuals, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations can all benefit from creative thinking or, as the saying goes, ‘unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes’. Developing new ways of doing business is crucial to survive in our challenging economic environment.

Characteristics of thinking outside the box (shamelessly borrowed from author Sudhi Seshachala)

• One should be willing to take new perspectives to day-to-day work.
• One should be capable of thinking differently with an open mind, think about stuff with substance, and do things differently.
• One must focus on the value of finding new ideas and acting on them.
• One must strive to create value in newer ways.
• One must be capable of listening to, supporting, nurturing and respecting others when they come up with new ideas.

Out-of-the box thinking requires openness to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore. ‘Out of the box’ thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support. They also know that having an idea is good, but acting on it is more important. Results are what count.