Exceptional Leaders take Absolute Ownership

Introduction

Spoiler alert, the five-word quote above summarizes what this exceptional 312-page leadership book explains in easy to understand prose. If you do not take the time to read this book, that is your loss; however, if that is the case, do yourself a favour and remember the quote above and APPLY it. If you don’t fully understand what taking “absolute ownership” means then you will just have to read the book ?.

Why am I writing and posting a book review on leadership on Forever Active, a web site dedicated to improving an older adult’s fitness and wellness? Because, if you embrace the fundamental principals of this book (there are twelve of them) you will lead a better, more complete, balanced, accountable lifestyle. This includes improved fitness and wellness. Read more…

By Richard Reed

As an older adult, I like to think that I know a lot. You know, the “I have been there, done that” mentality. Sadly, as I read, listen, watch and interact with others I have quickly learned that I know so little. Everyone comes from a different background and has experienced so many things that I have not. Simply by osmosis you can not help but learn more each day.

If you are like me, and are curious about other people and what you can learn from them, then “If I could Tell You Just One Thing” is the book for you. It is a compilation of 68 interviews with the famous such as entertainers, Simon Cowell, Judy Dench and Jude Law; the politically powerful like President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair; the spiritually influential such as The Dali Lama and Reverend Libby Lane, the super rich, Bill Gates and Sir Richard Branson, adventurer like Bear Grylls who summited Mt. Everest, and survivors like Lily Ebert (Auschwitz concentration camp) and Katie Piper (domestic abuse).

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“Man’s Search for Meaning”

                                                 by Viktor Frankl

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”

                If the above quote does not make you want to read this mesmerizing  book then read on because it gets better. Viktor Frankl’s bestselling legendary book just keeps on giving. The book is divided into two parts. The first is titled, “Experiences in a Concentration Camp” and though he does give graphic description of the “hell” he lived through while incarcerated, Frankl focuses more on how he, as a  psychotherapist, observed and interpreted how the human psyche coped and survived. It is a tough first 93 pages to read but does effectively set up the second part titled, “Logotherapy in a Nutshell”.  Logotherapy, (Logo is Greek for “Meaning”), is the psychotherapy  that he developed. Over the last 53 pages of the book  he explains his theory, and on almost every page there is a nugget of wisdom to be absorbed.

                With this review it is my hope that I do this very powerful book the justice it deserves. It  has the power to help enhance your personal life and the interaction you have with others, but it also has the potential to have a significant effect on a greater scale, for as he says in the last two sentences :

“Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of.

And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”

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Duane Jennings, the 93-year-old man who enters through the door most mornings shortly after dawn, gives Danny Rivera a glimpse of the future he wants. This man, a World War II veteran with the U.S. Army Air Force, moves easily, smiles often and is a model of health and well-being at the tail end of the life cycle.

“Other people notice when he comes in, and they are half his age or even younger. And they’re embarrassed. … They think, ‘Wow. If he can do it, I can do it,'” said Rivera, a 44-year-old personal trainer. “With him, there are no excuses.”

Duane Jennings, who is hard of hearing, caught some of the compliment and grinned.”It’s about habit, I guess,” he said. Read more…

Are you having a difficult time motivating yourself to exercise? Well if you are, you are not alone. There are a lot of frustrated want-to-be exercisers out there that just don’t know how to take those first steps and get started.

Here are some time tested practical tips to help you get off the couch and into the exercise mode.

First, make sure your exercise goals are realistic and sustainable. Aiming to complete an exercise program that is too demanding is counter productive – intense, unrealistic goals are difficult to achieve, not to mention sustain. Plus, you’re more likely to injure yourself. And failing to reach your goals only leads to more frustration and lack of motivation. Instead, aim to move 30 minutes a day, think of it as “drops in a bucket.” The drops may not seem like it will make much of a difference, but they add up over time. Read more…

Shelley Morris was born without sight in her right eye. In her left, she is only able to see from the upper right hand corner, a result of the optic atrophy she was born with. “It’s a little like looking through a McDonald’s straw,” she says. Ms. Morris doesn’t let that get in the way of her running. When the 50-year-old recruitment and referral services coordinator at Volunteer Ottawa competes in triathlons, she is tethered to a sighted guide. The rules demand it.

When she is out running, though, she leaves the tether at home. Her guide calls out verbal cues – “go left,” “we’re coming up to a hill,” “get ready to duck under some tree branches,” “there’s someone coming up on the path so come over to my side.” Even though she doesn’t need it for the event, Ms. Morris says she will probably wear the tether when she runs the 10K race in a field of more than 10,000 runners at this Saturday’s Ottawa Race Weekend to make her presence known. Read more…