YOUR INNER CEO

Your Place in the Big Picture

2012-01-22T10:00:00.043-05:00

Week 3

Your Place in the Big Picture

Tweets

1. It’s likely not possible to have a thought for redemption that hasn’t been had by others.

2. It’s like saying this gem of an idea I’ve shared with you isn’t original, but I arrived at it independently.

3. The difference is in the sharing. In the first case, you’re embarrassed; in the second, perhaps a bit too proud.

4. The reasons for embarrassment are old and common, but laying them beside God is a game-changer.

5. God is vocabulary, a word that came into the world where there was a consciousness waiting.

6. Vocation is the calling, the tearing out old pages from the notebook, grains sliding between your fingers as you walk.

7. When your breath shows that God needs you, the night is a full moon.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Cellular

Is there a truth

of mine alone,

not shared

with anyone—

friend, parent, child,

life partner?

Not shared, not known

because I never found

words for it?

What might that be?

Never fully loved?

Never fully loving?

Vanity threaded throughout?

Loss of faith?

Unspent talent?

Fear’s most deceiving cover-up?

Anger beyond comprehension?

Failed trust in control?

A plain hopeless sinner,

salt of the earth?

Yes, let’s not forget that.

I’m persuaded that

God needs me.

________________________________________________________________

At Bottom, Who’s There?

2012-01-15T10:00:00.007-05:00

Week 2

At Bottom, Who’sThere?

Tweets

1. Whatdoes it do to you when someone strong says, Think straight!

2. Whenhave your thoughts led you astray, when you’ve fessed up, “I was wrong aboutthat.

3. Whatlets you know when you’re right-on with your thoughts?

4. Howfar apart are your head and heart? How far? How near?

5. Howdo you define heart’s desire?

6. Howdo you finish the sentence, I am _____?

7. Wheredo you need to be right now—emotionally, not geographically—to be at your best?

Photographby Cher Cox

Modesty

I think,

thereforeI am.

Many have argued

persuasively against

these words by Descartes,

but so what if

they’re right in some way?

We do think and are.

But what do we think?

Where do we end?

If this, then that?

This, therefore that?

Simply, only, that?

Someone has said

the longest distance

is between head

and heart.

Much desire is

not of the heart

but rather attachment—

loyalty to mundane wish.

The modesty of

heart’s desire acknowledged

hoves to shore

our masterful minds.

________________________________________________________________

What Do I Do Now?

2012-01-08T10:00:00.007-05:00

Week 1

What Do I Do Now?

Tweets

1. Sometimesold convictions make us old before our time.

2. Whatquestions, if any, have you entertained lately that raise doubts about your lifecourse?

3. Shouldyou choose to change course, how bold can you be without having the new pathlaid out clearly?

4. Wherewill you find support if you change course? It’s there to be found.

5. Whatstill small voice has kept you alive amid doubt and confusion?

6. Whatlights you up? Think back to some good times for clues. Go to the light.

7. Watchyour feet. Where are they taking you?

Photography by Cher Cox

Trampled

Are you on the road

to stop?

I mean, how long

will you travel?

Do you wonder

how much

you should endure?

You look tired,

friend,

like someone

worn out from

washing clean clothes.

Are you needed

elsewhere,

the you you’ve

trampled under

your own feet?

Shatter them!

They’re only clay.

Roll yourself

in a cart

to that river

alongside

and meet there

your invisible

angel

and feet of

wings.

________________________________________________________________

Your Course Is Clear

2012-01-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 52

Your Course IsClear

1. “Iam like all other men. I am like some other men. I am like no other man.”Listen to Aescylus. On and off thejob, express no-other-personqualities.

2. Separateyour unique strengths from your “me-too” strengths and act on them.

3. Acceptyour gifts? “Hey, you’re good at that,” she says.

“Oh,come on,” you say.” “No, I mean it.”

“Really?”you say.

4. Tobe good at something puts you on the spot. It means you can’t malinger. Peopleexpect good things from you.

5. Ifyou’ve shown you’re good with some gift, and the reactions of others won’t letyou hide from that, bathe in it, claim it. It’s you.

6. Yourmission: biting statement of purpose, uniqueness and method. 75 words max.First sentence brief, inspiring and memorable.

7. Gofor it. “The man of courage flees forward.” JacqueMaritain—a life-yielding spurt from the inert . . .

Photographby Cher Cox

One

Letme count the ways . . .

No!

Look

Listen

Think

Feel

Now

There is only one way.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Reinvent Yourself and Don’t Look Back

2011-12-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 51

Reinvent Yourselfand Don’t Look Back

1. “Ifyou aren’t afraid of dying, there is nothing you can’t achieve.” Tao Te Ching. Dying to pre-conceptions,that is.

2. Theforce of a resistant will is paltry in the face of a true calling.

3. Self-imageis often a lie. Often, we aren’t who we tell ourselves we are.

4. Perversely,what scares us the most are those tasks that prove exhilarating when we lowerour heads and gut them through.

5. Tunefullynow: “Oh where oh where has my little self gone, oh where oh where can it be?”

6. Yes,it’s clear to me this instant, reinventing myself is a task of reclamation, notrevision.

7. “Changeoccurs when we become who we are, not when we try to become who we’re not.” Arnold Beisser, M.D.

Photographby Cher Cox

Expectations

What youthought was, wasn’t.

What youthink is, isn’t.

It’s likeputting out

a new idea,but the last

words won’tcome

and yourlistener

completesit for you.

Yes, Yes, you exclaim.

Until youarrive you can’t know

the “that’sit,” and perhaps

not theneither since the arrival,

chidinglyso, is a new beginning.

Change aperson’s expectations,

we say, andyou can change them.

Well, yesagain, just so . . .

Expectationshave kept me

from seeingwhat’s there.

What Ithought was, wasn’t

and I’m neweyes ready.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Time to Get Rid Of The Options

2011-12-18T10:00:00.006-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 50

Time to Get Rid OfThe Options

1. Wolfwanted sweeter grapes high on the vine. To have them, he’d have to unclench thegrapes in his teeth and leap. He wouldn’t do it.

2. Theschool nurse spilled coins across the floor. She started to pick up one, thenwent to another and another without picking up any.

3. ACEO had a golden egg, but the goose was getting old. No new products replacedthe egg; the goose died and the company with her.

4. Weclutch options that block growth and elect options that keep us from purepursuit of our central purpose.

5. Toomany options hedge the bet and don’t place the bet.

6. “Stayloose,” he says. No! Get tight on this and go for it.

7. “Anyonewho’s not fired with enthusiasm will be fired with enthusiasm.” Vince Lombardi

Photograph by Cher Cox

Slide

Heel andtoe, heel and toe,

slide,slide, slide.

I’mthinking of things

that slide,or if you prefer—

glide.

Themovement is smooth

but alsorigidly controlled:

Tongue-in-groovecarpentry.

A river’snormal flow

within itsbanks.

Airplanesin their lanes—

theirglide-paths coming in.

Heavymachines in a plant,

on rails,moving easily,

withprecision

to whereneeded.

Submarinetorpedoes

slottedinto place

for firing.

Makinglove.

WilliamBlake wrote,

and Iagree,

“Improvementmakes

straightroads; but the

crookedroads without

improvementare

roads ofgenius.”

But today,for awhile

at least,I’m sunk deep

in the waysI want

to becontrolled

to superiorpurpose.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Get Off To A Good Start

2011-12-11T10:00:00.008-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week49

GetOff To A Good Start

1. Thetime has come in our journey: Start your engines!

2. Dopeople draw strength from you? Are they fed from your nature or drained by it?Be a nurturer, not an impairer

3. Haveyou learned how to be a team leader? Team member? These skills must be learned.Not? Now is soon enough.

4. Runningmeetings well is essential for team leadership. Ask candid associates what theythink of the meetings you run.

5. You’relayers beneath your CEO? Your job: contribute to the generation of ideas. Do itand your work soon will be felt upwards.

6. CEOsare on the lookout for team-builders. They know ‘em when they see ‘em. Be oneand you’ll be seen.

7. Thinkof team in everything you do. Your individual effort is critical as ever, butmerely your expression of the team apart.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Depth

Slow down, he says.

Find your placeslowly.

Speedmust be for spurts,

Ithink, then,

becausehis words,

notjust the content,

soundhusky, dry,

learned,like corn

inthe wind.

Isee him see

whathe sees,

hearwhat he hears,

walkwhat he walks.

Ithink, then, yes,

speedmust be spurts—

acall for the swift,

deftswing of the sword,

timely,not over-employed.

Walkit, don’t talk it.

Peoplewill know

you’recoming.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Your Spiritual Journey: Current Propositions

2011-12-04T10:00:00.008-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 48

Your SpiritualJourney: Current Propositions

1.For You? Perhaps? Today’s spiritual quest rises from a deep well, brick-linedand more sturdy than the “New Age” base of recent years.

2.“Spirituality” is not retreat from established religion, as much as engageddialog and distinction between what we thought and now think.

3.Life’s mysteries are acknowledged, not dismissed. Energized explorers sharedifferences and commonalities in their faith (or lack of it).

4.Faith questions and life’s mysteries are as likely of being examined by theuniversity’s physics department as its school of religion.

5.This firm quest is budding among the pilgrims: ethics, integrity, authenticityand soul are not the sole province of organized religion.

6.So now we have among us an enlivening give-and-take. No two people worship thesame God—even when we’re talking about the same God.

7. Hordesdropped out from tradition. After this muscular enquiry, many returned to a newhome, citizens in the larger, timeless world.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Transit

Iheard it with my own ears from Walter Brueggemann, a friend

and OldTestament scholar: a fellow St. Louis Cardinal fan.

God is in recoveryfrom violence.

Iwas as startled as a philanderer caught naked. I didn’t ask

what hemeant; there wasn’t time, and then, it’s more perverse

to do myown plumbing on his broken-pipe gusher. How many

wanderingwould-be pilgrims have lived, and nations of

wayfarerswill be born to a new gaggling line? O, my, earth time

and Kingdomtime—such a difference beyond our grasp: Do I

have thisright—a thousand years is an instant in God’s eye? What

the helldoes that mean, except

yes, oh yes, there’s time forrecovery.

Everwonder why He/She/It waited 15 billion years to put us in charge

ofthis little round ball? Given our mess it seems the only secret on

violencemay lie in the fact that our omni-God needsus for recovery!

Soundsabsurd, I know, but answer me: What arms will wrap like vines

aroundGod’s tree? Eyes narrow at a purple dawn? Faces shine at a child’s

birth?Tears flow as from a stabbed heart at a soldier’s death? Whose

trustexpressed in tomorrow?—

if not ours?

Hardto believe God’s counting on us, but if this preposterous leak of

recognitionhas any merit, based on the patience God’s shown, might it

someday bea gusher of its own? Is it seeping as an underground stream

below ourbodies and bears us skimming across all interior surfaces each

century, aninch closer to the truth? Are a thousand years really an instant?

If so, thenthat makes Eternity the time of times, and what, do tell, does

that mean?Could it mean we’re already there, working at recovery,

practicing the eternal propositions?Perhaps. See below my lights—some of them sprinkled earlier in the weekly seventweets . . .

Ultimately,seeking power fails.

Letall illusions go.

Yieldingis the way of wisdom.

Theright thing is the appropriate thing.

Everyoneneeds to go through dark nights of the soul.

Impatient,you can ruin what almost arrived.

Eachis one with the universe.

Ifwe don’t forgive our enemies, we become them.

Thefuture causes the present.

Thereare times to trust people who aren’t trustworthy.

Learnfrom the wise and step out on your own.

Lifelived too intensely is life lived poorly.

“Letit happen” wears better than “Make it happen.”

Takeyour stand, then be quiet.

Aflipped penny can shape alternatives as much as any larger coin.

If you wantto know what a person (including yourself) is committed to, don’t listen totheir words; watch their feet.

Geographyis destiny.

If God, theAll, has always existed and always will, then we are participating in eternityright now.

Theshortest distance between two points is a straight line, but attentivemeandering often brings superior results.

Collaborationwithout consensus is the soul of organizational truth.

It’sup and down on the Merry-Go-Round.

Smalldecisions confirm a larger agenda.

Nothinghas to be possible. Anything can be possible.

Trulygreat ideas don’t come of age without debate.

Goodintentions are a substitute for performance.

Permanenceis proof of adaptability, so far.

Oneof life’s most serviceable questions is “Says who?”

A value iswhat we live by, not merely profess, whether it’s positive or negative.

In duetime, the wolf and the lamb shall feed together.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Learning Is Your Dance Of Life

2011-11-27T10:00:00.001-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 47

Learning Is Your Dance Of Life

1. Some of our best learning isunlearning—when we learn what we thought was true, isn’t.

2. Some of our best knowing is notknowing—when we have “beginners mind.”

3. “I am still learning.” Michelangelo at age 87.

4. Learners are the best teachers.

5. Often our best answer to life isa question.

6. Dialog is learning.

7. Silence is learning

Photograph by Cher Cox

Dancers

Ihave a set of bookends fierce in their reach.

Isee and feel them as

Icons—realones—Spiritual.

Theirtexture is rough to

thehand—cold, heavy

black steelcastings. Identical.

Naked,looking-to-be Giacometti men

with slimmuscular bodies.

Bookendskeep books in—keep them from sliding;

fallingover, making a mess.

That’stheir work, applying pressure.

These domore than that,

though,you’ll see.

They areseated firmly,

solemn eyesoutward,

buttocksagainst the books,

backsleaning straight,

legscrossed at the ankle,

left overright.

Opposites,you know the look;

in one yousee his sole,

the otherhis locked ankle.

maximumforce would be

both feetplanted on the shelf,

bracing, nogive—back and

upper armstense.

Yetthey’re not relaxing—crossed legs

almostalways betray angst—and there’s

a shadingof movement here, man and book

intermingled,both tension and a drawing upon

mutualsupport—for now, most supplied

by the men.

Listen,though, for these men are

journeymen—asSt. Paul was a tent-maker

forhire—producers, adequacy known and

paid forwhen I brought them home from the store.

Butmore—much more lies in wait

for them—asit was with St. Paul,

by leaningon the books as he

leaned onthe knee of Gamaliel—

his teacher. . .

Throughtheir backs---that

preciouscontact—their leaning

strength ofinquiry, and belief,

from justthis bent, they draw out

into theirpores wisdom, ease, patience,

and risewhen I sleep,

to live,and dance the teaching,

and theWord and Art

become one,giving

me yetanother chance.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Claim Your Underpinning

2011-11-20T10:00:00.013-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful(weeks 40-52)

Week 46

Claim YourUnderpinning

1. What do you count on? Wheneverything falls apart, where do you turn? Serious illness. Lost job. Gonebroke. A loved one dies.

2. What could it mean to have ariver beneath you? In a way, it could be just the same as earth, anotherpresence of nature holding you up.

3. The notion of being heldup—supported—grates on us some because we don’t like to think of ourselves asbeing so dependent—weak, even.

4. The close call is a reminder,perhaps just temporarily, of our vulnerability, when we escape some tragedy bya thin margin.

5. That river, ground, or communitythat bears you up is yours to claim and love daily because life is never withoutits fragility.

6. For most on the globe thatunderpinning is a faith or spirituality of some stripe whether or not we’reformal practitioners.

7. Claim that underpinning howeveryou can.

Photograph by Cher Cox

River

Therecame a top line from a shuttered old hymn

on a lowwind from nowhere this morning,

anddrizzled cool on the top of my head,

thatbrought sharp sweet chill to my bearing:

When peace like ariver attendeth my way . . .

Forgetreligion and

lie downsoftly on the word.

If I were ateacher

I would askfor silence

and havethe students

say theline

over tothemselves

as asecular chant.

Oh, there’sWhitehead again,

peeringover my shoulder:

“Seeksimplicity and distrust it.”

Who canargue with him?

Yet thismorning, at least,

and I mustadmit—

amid nogreat strife,

there was ariver.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

What Am I Doing Here?

2011-11-13T10:00:00.004-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 45

What Am I Doing Here?

1. Energyis a result of naming what you care about. If you can’t name it, you can’t acton it.

2. Sometimes we’re afraid to namewhat we care about because we’ll be asked to act on it and fear failing at it.

3. Thereare cycles—times for flying high and laying low. In times of confusion, juststay put for awhile. Lean back with no apologies.

4. Growyoung now. Turn an emotional somersault or two. Take yourself back to the parkwhen you were 10. What’s in you wanting to come out?

5. Askyourself what, exactly, your organization wants done. Ask if you’re a personwho can help deliver it. Yes?

6. Thenask if this is the time to do it or would it’s timing be better later. Let’ssay now!

7. Thenask: “In tandem with what people should I take this on?” and go round them up.

Photographby Cher Cox

Staying

Come, tohear.

Hear what?

Hear what’sinside you.

Strange youwould

say that.

It puts mein a cloud cover:

silence,seeing nothing either.

You know mebetter

thananyone,

lost, now,

thechampion miler.

Your beinghere

shuts medown,

yet don’tgo away.

I have tostart all over,

knowingnothing.

Let me justlean backward

againstthis rock.

I lookacross the sand.

the cloudlifted,

to the seaand feel its

soft surfcoming and going.

This inletbluff that supports

me saysnothing.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Chart A Brief Early Bio

2011-11-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 44

Chart A Brief EarlyBio

1. “Just realize where you comefrom: this is the essence of wisdom.” TaoTe Ching

2. Get down on paper those formativeand most memorable events of your first 10-15 years of your life.

3. Don’t labor over this. Spread thetask out over a reflective week or two. Let come what may. Just bullet the highand low points.

4. Mull them over, for better orworse. Have you been remaking history through your memory? Assigning blame? Makingexcuses? Check it out.

5. Whom do you love and “owe” yourgratefulness? Your expanded thoughts and feelings are what count. Use that yellowpad.

6. Who/what scared you? Yourexpanded thoughts and feelings, please. Delight or fright . . . from here on,which will win your might?

7. When did you soar? What tells youwhat your special gifts are? How will you go about expressing them now? Theyhaven’t gone away.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Boy

A man may grow up

forgetting he was a boy,

or thinking he forgot.

Certainly there was

much to remember,

but also the impulse

to put behind.

Three generations

and a kid brotherin two

houses side by side witha

handful of boarders to boot.

Now he’smoved east

with hismaster’s degree

andscarcely a thought

of skinnedknees,

climbingthe cherry tree

and thehurt amid tears

when hisbest friend

moved away,a father

who ranalongside the

learningbiker, then let go,

the motherand grandmother

who couldcook up a dream

and placeit on the table,

agrandfather who taught him

how towhittle and held him close,

the kidbrother who sassed him right.

Therevisits that recur

at timesunexpected

will warmthe walls

of his ParkAvenue office

and givehim a spine

for themissing rainbows.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Juice Up The Ordinary

2011-10-30T10:00:00.004-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 43

Juice Up The Ordinary

1. Architect Louis Sullivan wrote “Formever follows function.” Grasp true function, not good intentions, and you’lljuice up a lot of dry dirt.

2. I seeksigns and feelings for what wins my heart for our abode, each day. How do webend—our house and us—to meet our functions?

3. The daybegins with a small slow upward step. In my mind’s eye a Calla Lilly on therise—as if in time-lapse photography, to set my pace.

4. See himsee her now, taking a nap, tiny triangle of her face covered by the crumpledsheet, eyes, nose, lips, serene, peeking pretty.

5. Here’sthe thing about a poem: It doesn’t always behave. In fact, it can grow wild inits development—just like you.

6. The cargobox carries contents, accepts handling, mobility, recycling; gives itselfthanklessly to anticipated delight on arrival.

7. Thegrandfather clock: Many choice nights, sleeping alone, I have waited—notrestlessly—for its sure clang at the foot of the stairs.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Cocktail

It’s my favorite.

I named it “The Sod Glacier.”

2 oz of Old Bushmills plain labelIrish Whiskey,

poured over hard fresh rocks in ashort glass

that fits my hand perfectly.

Why do I like it so?

This beverage is caringly crafted

by sod-busting leprechauns

in the world’s oldest distillery

and offers see-through simplicity.

It presents itself with earth-tonewarmth,

signifying grounding.

Yet it is paired adeptly with thecopious ice

that fills the resplendent glass

and delivers sincerity

side-by-side

with cold, hard, dispassionateclarity.

It is most enjoyed whenseated well

at day’s end,

reflecting on the joys of one’slabors

or applying finishing touches

to the formulation of a great idea.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

How Will You Define Your Leadership?

2011-10-23T10:00:00.008-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (!4-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week42

HowWill You Define Your Leadership?

1.Because life across its full spectrum requires endless variability and flexibility,change is our constant.

2. Little things, particularly whenthey run together, send out the big messages.

3.Leadership, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It always requires anadjective. Strong Leader. Weak leader.

4. Live today, today, but not onlyfor today.

5. Would you and your associateslike to debate something over coffee? Try this: ”Human nature never changes.”

6.Play with ideas, yes, but before you get to the real playground--thejoy-space--comes blood, sweat and tears.

7.Word game—10 to live by, ending in ty: veracity, tenacity, alacrity, variety,levity, brevity, humility, felicity, sensitivity, ability.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Magic

There’s arush

that comes

in thepresence

of a truetalent—

acreativity that

smacks medown flat

as asquirrel in a hard storm.

I say tosuch

anexecutive,

let meshare something,

then I do,

then shesays,

say more,

then I do,

then shesees

thecritical edge

in herpower

and acts onherself

to move theneedle,

and outcomes the rabbit.

It’s thatsimple.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

This Growth Thing Is Up To You

2011-10-16T10:00:00.007-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (!4-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 41

This Growth Thing Is Up To You

1. Development is making no excuses, placing noblame.

2. Life is sometimes like holding a bushel basketthe rain runs through. It won’t hold the water, but it’s cleaner from theaction.

3. Failing is seeing how you fell short and whereyour growth is from here.

4. Accomplishing is temporary. A good turn here isan opportunity to evaluate so-called success.

5. Loving is the only way to find out what in lifeyou're being asked to do.

6. Striving is one of the best ways I know how tomiss the point.

7. Modeling is showing how you do it well whilekeeping your mouth shut.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Bal-Hoola

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

don’t ask me to say

would you want to go there?

then be on your way

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

don’t ask me to say

what does a lad learn there?

will make a man gray

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

how long is the road?

I’ve warned you before

your question’s a goad

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

there’s mercy there

does that surprise you

O, you with such flair?

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

their questions are strong

how do we gain wisdom?

by seeing we’re wrong

I’vebeen to Bal-Hoola

and I’ve said my piece

you can’t go to Bal-Hoola

without signing the lease

I’vereturned to Bal-Hoola

that says it all

there’s no true travel

short of heeding the call

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Time To Participate in The Everyday

2011-10-09T10:00:00.001-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (!4-26)

III. Judicious (27-39)

IV. Resourceful (weeks 40-52)

Week 40

Time To Participatein The Everyday

1. So much I would learn reaches my eyes andears, but not my heart. What then?

2. I heard a sound this week that had gone outof my life: the slamming of a screen door.

3. Change is changing to whom we are. That change threads its way into theobservations of others.

4. Hasit sunk in that the room grew silent when I said no?

5. Ijust wonder what’s behind our hanging-bite love of the open road.

6. Ifit's adequate, really adequate, it's adequate.

7. Isee no entangled prey so I’m thinking that today the spider’s job ismaintenance.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Moments

Justafter I

get intobed

I hear afat drop

smack thebottom

of thedownspout

outside ourbedroom,

echoing inthe

smallcourtyard.

It’s awelcome sound

even thoughit may

foreshadow

an overcastand

hinderingtomorrow.

I lie thereand

listen asthe pace

quickenslike soldiers

stepping uptheir cadence;

then all isquiet

as the flowis full.

I go to theopen window

to see thestreet

glisteningand watch

a car goby,

feeling onmy forearms

the hiss ofits spinning tires,

then settleback to bed,

siftinginto the sweet rhythm.

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

Make Memories Work For You

2011-10-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 39

Make Memories Work For You

1. You always have the power toremember.

2. Take the time to remember. You haveto relax to do this. Believe me, you have the time.

3. Remembering is not living in thepast. It’s learning from the past, what may have been forgotten, and refreshingit for the present.

4. There are those who dwell in the“good old days” but you know from my spirit that’s not what we’re about here!

5. Here’s a question: Think back on arich time in your youth. What did it have that’s missing in your life now?Bring it back in new form.

6. Even bad memories won’t do you in.Don’t be afraid to go there. Stare it down, find out that its sting is gone.What’s the learning?

7. Some event in your past flashes puredelight. That flash is you. Act on it and you’ll capture what’s unique andworthwhile in you.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Facings

Memoriesthe last four days:

Asmile, what is this one

among allkinds?

She’slifted her eyes, looking

atsomething through the transom.

I see firsther lower teeth, then up—

a pleasingsmile, one that quickens

my bloodand pulls me forward

out of mychair.

I standbehind her

with myarms around her waist,

pull herclose to me.

Swimmingplayfully in the Atlantic,

off theGeorgia coast, underwater,

eyes open,40 feet or so from shore,

I’mstartled to see a stingray glide by

at armslength, whipping its tail.

Terrified,can you imagine?

The thoughtof a bee sting

hurls meinto a downward whirl

ofprojected pain I’ve never felt!

I swim toshore frantically

and standlooking back,

betrayed bymy knees.

Ho,you simple garter snake black

with paleyellow and coral stripes atop,

andgreenish-white underbelly

that myfriends and I discovered.

Gasped andstepped back, we did,

when welifted a flat rock out of the mud.

Youwriggled so when I grasped you

rightbehind your head—

your tonguelashing out

with thespeed

of awoodpecker’s hammer,

our firsttime, fright-jammed revelation.

Pitchingyou forward

like arejected small fish,

we watchedyou disappear

into thetall grass as water

sinks intosand.

Sure youweren’t poisonous,

in laterdays we went looking

for yourbrothers—a time-limited dive,

a shortseason in the tenth year

of a boy’sadventure. But here,

now, comesmeandering

that fattime,

yourreturn, in memory,

receivedgratefully,

with vividfears, awe

of yourslim gracefulness.

Aseagull in Del Mar

circlesover the water,

swoops andglides

inwardabove land, turns,

descendssmoothly to the beach,

flaps to aquick, smooth landing

and for afew proud moments

stands atattention.

She knows

I’ve been

with

her?

Copyright © 2011, Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc.

When Things Get in the Way

2011-09-25T10:00:00.012-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 38

When Things Get in the Way

1. Recount a time or two when aninterruption saved you from an embarrassment at least or, at worst, going over thecliff.

2. Better to be discouraged in themiddle than the beginning. You might create a turning point. There’s no turningpoint at the beginning.

3. Unresponsive to Sara’s work thisweek? Nothing wrong with her work? You were just distracted? Your disengagementgot in the way.

4. Many executives aren’t intolifelong learning. They think they are but aren’t. Serve your career best byputting yourself to some test.

5. There’s a strategic side topatience, an affirmation to it that means you can be in charge of your life andwork. Assert your patience.

6. You can’t always make thingshappen as you want. Only charlatans profess this and fools believe it. You cannever be an always performer.

7. Is your compass is pointed in thewrong direction? Has the latest in a string of interruptions shown you so?

Photograph by Cher Cox

Interruption

You’dnever guess I, Interruption,

haveanything to do with maturity.

I justdon’t look the part

and thatsuits me fine.

I’m allabout surprise. O,

don’t getme wrong, I have

nothingto do with anybody’s

resolve or refusal to grow; I’m just

one of the underrated influences

sent by God, or as some

morefashionable

than Iwould say, fate.

But I’m theone who does

the job,knows who sent me,

and I’m noaccident.

Mynickname is Needle, and

mypoint makes the tip

of Sir Galahad’s lance

seem as blunt as a boxer’s glove.

The space I pierce sometimes

would defydetection

by anelectron microscope,

yet I’moften present to

prick one’sballoon the size

of adirigible. You know from

experienceI have a sense

ofhumor and can be as ironic

as a rainbow . . . my message

as clear as a firehouse bell:

Stop.See what you’re missing.

Take Stock When You’re Cut Off

2011-09-18T10:00:00.001-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 37

TakeStock When You’re Cut Off

1. What is it that you always comein second or third?
When the recruiter says it’s between you and another
guy, it’s the other guy.

2. When people give you soft answersto this question, or
others like it, insist on hard ones. If you show you’re
serious about this, they’ll shoot straight.

3. Ask the same questions of yourspouse, closest friend
and blunt sister. They know you well.

4. Quitting makes it harder to startnext time. If you quit,
it’s because you want to. If you want to, it’s because
you’re discouraged.

5. Face the feedback. Finalists arevictors. They devote
themselves to competence. Finalisthas the same root
as “fine.” Be fine!

6. Sometimes winners lose bywinning. Sometimes losers
win by losing. It can be confusing, but time often reveals
the reasons why.

7. There’s a bigger picture, too.Sometimes it’s just another
person’s turn, or simply not yours. I call it Destiny. Feel
fortunate.

Photographby Cher Cox

Sculpture

Thereis mercy

in thecutoff,

much thatwe

can neverknow.

How was it

when I gotsick

andcouldn’t play

the vitalgames?

How did Ifare

when told I

talked toomuch

andwouldn’t present

for ourfirm?

What did Iask

myself

when shewas gone?

Read Books That Get Inside You

2011-09-11T10:00:00.010-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 36

Read Books That Get Inside You

1. There’smore to read than you can read. Don’t read a book just because someone tellsyou to. Read only what thrills you to know.

2. Fallin love with the author. Be grateful she is teaching you what you want tomaster.

3. Shareyour learning with others who are like-minded. They will learn from you andchallenge your thoughts so you’ll have to dig deeper.

4. Readfiction as well as non-fiction. Novelists and poets stun us with theirtruth-telling and insightful array of literary skills.

5. Greatstories (fictitious and real) and their lessons will stay with you for life.

6. Lessis more. A few good books are better than a batch of bad ones. Bad for you, that is!

7. Ifyou’re a slow reader, as I am, and it took you a bit longer to learn somethingsignificant that’s now a part of your life, does that matter?

Photograph by Cher Cox

Book

There’s abook lying on their end-table,

under thelamp, next to the sofa.

I can’t seeits cover; it just catches my eye

as I’mleaving, saying goodbye to my host.

It’s not athick book; 250 pages, I’d say,

or maybe alittle more. It’s not new, either.

Perhaps itstood on a shelf for some years,

saving itslittle corner in this reader’s mind.

There’s apost card, likely sent by a friend,

that keepsthe reader’s place about a third

of the waythrough.

Ismile to myself with a darting thought

as I stepthrough the door:

“In thisour Video Day,

what ismore interactive,

significantly interactive,

than holingup

with a bookyou love

and beingloved

by the bookyou hold?”

It’sbeen said that civilization dates

from thetime words appeared on “paper,”

and becameportable, re-usable—in a way,

broadcast.

Yes. Nice.Necessary.

But O,still, the blessed aloneness of it all,

when I’marrested by a line, say, from Rilke,

a characterwho haunts from Flannery O’Connor,

amind-bending concept on Job from Steven Mitchell,

fiction ornon-fiction ticklers from Annie Dillard.

Anything—letit be anything

that makesme wonder—for what?

Lean Into Clarity

2011-09-04T10:00:00.006-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 35

Lean Into Clarity

1. Turn your pet ideas upside down. Call on a couple of creative friends. One may even jerk you up short, help you retain the best of you.

2. Get clear! You, as many others, may think charisma is it. Not! Claim your true convictions. Pure stances have their own allure.

3. Laugh as you lean. Then throw your head back. This is about joy. Make this your game. Your sights are clear.

4. Keep it simple, like the man who invented the wing-nut—just a simple twist between your thumb and forefinger. Snug.

5. Destiny calls. Remember, that’s revelation, and a crooked road. It will take turns and test you. You will be better off.

6. Re-define patience as trusting the Divine Mystery.

7. Willfulness is not your friend.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Appearances

I thought I’d light

a candle from the bottom.

Never mind there

was no oxygen, it worked!

When it burned to the top

there was this wide open

cylinder below.

I grabbed the fire hose

from Engine Company #9,

rammed it down the empty shaft

and on this inferno of an

August afternoon, sprayed it on

all the Dalmatians within the

12 rings of the kingdom,

and all was as glorious as if

we were standing knee-deep in

Rome’s Trevi Fountain.

The tail wagging sent out cool breezes.

The yiping enlivened the populace.

Torpor was conquered.

Charisma won again.

The King was hanged.

When You’re Taking It All Too Seriously

2011-08-28T10:00:00.001-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 34

When You’re Taking It All Too Seriously

1. Awake maybe 10 minutes, barely moving, luxuriating. Amazing! After a whole night it still feels so good to be just here.

2. Say ”Whoa!” Things seem out of balance. You’re jumpy, irritable, one-track mind. Some symptom pops up. Your posture declines.

3. Real humor is seeing yourself as the fall-guy in the story or joke that makes you laugh.

4. I can’t say enough good about meditation. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. It can raise your peace quotient!

5. Senses alive! Do you hear the geese flying over, honking bliss? Michelangelo shouted “Breathe, damn you!” when completing Moses.

6. Wonder without ambition, something like “I wonder what the purpose is of a covered bridge.”

7. Be a child. Count the cars in the next freight train that goes by; the one that stalls your travel to an important meeting.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Dispersed

I need to spread out

like the bands of an

old clock wound tight.

I need to tick tock

out—walk away,

down the stairs,

tell the time without care,

walk the fields

of tall grass without paths,

grab the silty sand

with my hand

under the warm water

at the shore

and shudder with joy

its slipping through my fingers,

feeling my toes

sinking in beneath me.

I need to hold

an ice cream cone,

sit in an Adirondack chair,

lean back, feel its ribs

and watch

an old lady walk by

leaning on her cane.

Smile at her, speak,

and she to me.

The clock ticks,

no longer mine.

Intuition Is The Way

2011-08-21T10:00:00.015-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 33

Intuition Is The Way

1. Know who give what you value and value what you give. They are pearls of great price.

2. Be heard, not for the sake of democracy, but for your inner truth which is yours alone—and now can become ours.

3. Intuition is the source of all true knowing and understanding. Please, listen to yourself!

4. Don’t apologize. Don’t explain. Don’t defend yourself. All are a waste of effort and a distraction from your inner truth.

5. If you have average intelligence and call upon your intuition, you’ll be of more use to society than brilliant people who ignore theirs.

6. How is it that when we add up several small decisions of ours they somehow anticipated what was ahead?

7. My own experience is that my rational voice lies to me and my inner or intuitive voice never does.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Stealth

The cat, bowed so sweetly

over the saucer of milk,

resting lightly on those little

feet that Sandburg made known,

planted in our heads forever.

The fog of boredom

or listlessness

or loss of place

or an inert mind

may also come in on little cat feet,

and how gracious that is,

for a noisy entrance would

force us to run

from knowing ourselves

in ways that only silence

and aloneness can reveal.

See What Others Don’t See

2011-08-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 32

See What Others Don’t See

1. Patience is passive? Try withdrawing from work you know like the back of your hand to wait and prepare for opportunities that scare you.

2. Last week I spoke of poetry. Here’s another take: Writing the poem is the student teaching the teacher.

3. “Like a fanatic, I lay my life on the altar of rabid justification,” says he ever so poetically. Ah, he sees his rampant willfulness!

4. Remember (week 19) the man in the night? Therapists to whom he’s drawn have a saying: “To know the dream, you have to know the dreamer.”

5. “Here I am, 58 years old, and I don't what I'm going to do when I grow up.” Peter Drucker, writing in, say, about 1968. Died at 94. So, live!

6. Savvy people sense the movement of the still stream.

7. Crack lightening, whipping rain all day, creaked the house full with lament. Before the fire, feet planted, our books in our laps. Taken.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Corner

Sitting in a corner

as yesteryear’s punished

little student, supposedly

a poor cramped example?

Or standing at the intersection

full of options, waiting

for someone or a bus,

maybe merely lingering?

What if you defied the rules,

bringing deep-forced perceptions

from the schoolroom’s wedge, stood up,

turned around, pushed the chair aside?

Seeing amply more

than who saw you?

What’s declared inside you?

Where are you wanted?

Your Life’s a Poem. What’s the lifeline?

2011-08-07T10:00:00.002-04:00

I. Other-Centered (1-13)

II. Courageous (14-26)

III. Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV. Resourceful (40-52)

Week 31

YourLife’s a Poem. What’s the lifeline?

1. Many of us are like fine old furniture that’sbeen painted over.

2. Be the best, they say! Best at what? Best towhom? Best for how long? Best for sure? How about best for you?

3. Insist on denying your shortcomings, and itwill be impossible—down deep—to acknowledge your strengths. Declare.

4. Open ‘n lopin, that’s the way! Free and easywith the blinders off. Knowing. Choosing. Your ticket to ride.

5. I like poetry because it’s a way of sayingwhat we’re not inclined to say—in a few words. What would yours say about you?Try it.

6. Another tack. You can’t sail a boat while inharbor. Shove off.

7. Bright lazy people know how to setpriorities. Is that you? No? Fine. Then what? Come to life. Draw the line. Walkit.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Contrarian

Thewise woman said to the . . .

bully, weep

speaker,listen

leader,follow

giver,withhold

teacher,learn

clergyman,broaden

poet,capture

CEO, settle

advisor,pace

observer,act

writer,speak

traveler,stay

strong,yield

braggart,confess

pilgrim,invite

seen, see

initiator,wait

taker, give

photographer,blink

contrarian,die

and so shedid

and lived.

Who Are You? You Thought You Knew!

2011-07-31T10:00:00.004-04:00

I.Other-Centered (1-13)

II.Courageous (14-26)

III.Judicious (weeks 27-39)

IV.Resourceful (40-52)

Week 30

Who Are You? You Thought You Knew!

1.Sense of urgency as a permanent call is debilitating. Stay fresh. Find ways tolet breezes blow over you. Keep your life minty green.

2.My friend writes poetry and sells gaskets—puts poetry into his work and gasketsinto his poetry. His harmonizing rhythm keeps him fresh.

3.Action begets action. It's easier to keep going than get going. When you start,don't get discouraged and quit before you hit stride.

4.Whenever you set a goal, ask yourself: “Is this a goal or a wish?” A goal, yousay! Well, then, is it a goal for today or for another time?

5. Whenyou set an authentic goal, this begins the flowering of your resilience.

6.Living up to your potential doesn't get it. You're more textured, deeper, andricher than what society or "time-in-history" say you ought to be.

7. Whoand what you are make up what’s worth being—not some lie that says who you are that you’ve beenbelieving.

Photograph by Cher Cox

Fear

Isfear our most impeding quality?

I say yes.True,

we’retaught rightly from birth

that fearcan serve us well.

We knowthose times and

circumstances.So be it. Yet

whatundermines us is fear’s adult

falsehood—epidemicamong us—

lieslicking at our throats, a blade below

whittlingaway at our health till

the day wedie, even hastening

that date.Even sooner, begun

in thegarden of the hesitating

attitude,kudzu at the feet

of our lifepurpose. We’ve

nurtured itby crafting

ourshoulds, oughts and tries.

Goodintentions, the sideshow,

purpose themain event.

Yours.What’s yours? Oh,

thosedistractions, the busiest

person onearth absorbed with

all but theone place where

he must puthis eye.