You make choices all the time. This winter my experience has been very different from previous winters. Why? Because of choices we made. For the last two months we have been working out of Southern Florida. Woodinville, our home near Seattle experienced six unusual waves of snow fall and colder days than normal. Not much of a global warming there. But we were down here in the sunshine state, away from home in our alternate choice of residence. We replaced the freezing cold with daily swims and walks in the sun. Life is about choices. My choice was to finally walk my talk. Do what’s good for my health and what brings me energy. The writing was on the wall for some time. We decided to take action. For me, choosing to spend the winter in Florida will likely add another 10 or 15 productive years to my life.

My question to you is – What choices that you know you have to make are you holding back from making?

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Mar.05.2009 :: Entrepreneur, Know Thyself :: 1 Comment »

“When two needs meet, an opportunity is born. When they converge to serve a third cause, creativity is the result.”

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Mar.04.2009 :: My Zen :: No Comments »

Strange. 50 in a few days. Graduating from high school was only yesterday. Suddenly 50. Back then, 50 looked like the other side of the mountain. Unthinkable. Whoops – it’s here. Feels strange to think I’ve now lived half of my life.

It’s been a great ride. Learning. Wisdom. Understanding. Great teachers. Amazing people I’ve learned from and worked with. Deep gratitude. Living is so much more than any concept I could have imagined. Still, it feels like I’ve just started. This has only been a warm up so far. A beginning. Many more things to do. To learn about. To find and explore. Conversations to open up. Problems to solve. Contributions to make. Stories to tell and live.

Five years ago I wrote down one hundred goals for myself. One of them was to touch and impact a million people in a positive, transformative way. Perhaps you can help. I don’t know how to count this. I have been transformed by strangers who did not know me, who did not know they were changing my life. I think of the teacher I met who walks into his class each time thinking he might inspire a student to be a president one day or to develop a new cure for cancer. The teacher may not live to actually see the realization of his prayers or his efforts.

I think I am ready to release the goal of impacting a million people. To let the intention live on its own. The lives of a million people will be touched positively free of my need to know. Like you, I do need a little validation. Not too much, just enough to keep going. To know I am headed in the right direction. To be part of a part of a greater realization is to know I have lived on purpose. We each need a witness in this life. It helps us bear witness to ourselves. 50 in a few days. What a journey. I am just beginning.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Mar.02.2009 :: Consultant Journal :: 4 Comments »

Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps all had great coaches, what about yours?

Running your business and multi tasked life can often be as testing as NBA matches, Tour De France stages or Olympic meets.

To succeed you need to be focused, disciplined and strategic. You need a great team and you need to continue moving forward. None of these stars would dream of accomplishing such a feat without a top coach by their side.

Developing and running your business may be even more dynamic and complex than the Tour De France or an Olympics event. You need to stay clear. Keep your people fully engaged. Articulate a strategy. Listen. Assimilate learning. Make changes and Grow. Initiate a course correction and Design the future. Exude confidence and charisma. You have to think like a professional athlete. You have to be in top form. True champions are extraordinary because they do the basics in an extraordinary way. And because they do not shy away from continual learning, improvement and growth.

Can you afford to have anything less than the best help and support?

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Mar.01.2009 :: Coaching :: 1 Comment »