Dreams Come Alive

My Dad turned 60 last week. For him it is a birthday like any other even as my mum and I celebrate this landmark day.

The milestone of rounding a new decade tends to be a time of deep introspection and soul searching for many. I still remember turning 30 and constantly looking back at my experiences and counting my achievements to assure myself that I had not wasted my twenties. The months leading up to my birthday were marked by frantic agonising over perceived lost time and a misspent youth. And my depressive mood was not at all helped by a dark, dreary and damp British winter.

As I inch toward the end of my fourth decade of existence however, I find myself looking forward and being really happy at my life and where I am today. I am grateful that I love and believe in what I do for a living and for being surrounded by a solid and supportive network of friends and colleagues. There is so much to learn and I am so fortunate to have willing mentors, coaches and role models. I am learning and growing everyday and discovering and nurturing my new talents while making a difference to other people.

I also appreciate that my relationship with my parents continues to break new ground and that I have by my side a most beautiful, wonderful and loving girlfriend with whom I am extremely excited to build a future together. Love is in abundance! I have a positive expectancy of the future and look forward to new creations and taking on and excelling in new challenges. As my energy and enthusiasm skyrockets, I am evermore thrilled at making more dreams come alive.

As you celebrate your own birthday, is your age a cause for celebration or grounds for panic? Are you jumping out of bed excited to begin your day? When was the last time you counted your blessings? Are you looking back at regret at the things you had done or the things you had not done? What are some dreams you could get excited about fulfilling? If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?

Happy Birthday Dad

Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.

- St. Francis de Sales

Last week a senior executive client shared his experience building and driving teams in the corporate boardroom. His key lessons echoed the sentiments of an ultra endurance athlete whose team placed second in the Sahara Race 2009.

It starts right at the forming stage. Identifying individuals to make up a team is critical. Their respective strengths and weaknesses as well as their shared values underline the nature and potential of the relationship. Under stress, the team can breakdown if respect for one another is non existent. The same result occurs when any one person lacks the toughness of the others.

Once the team has been put together, a common purpose needs to be established. Clarity of goals gives a team direction and is a beacon upon which decisions are based and actions taken. What a team is setting out to achieve allows for clear demarcation of duties and elucidates the extent of operational scope. Expectations are set and roles and responsibilities delineated.

The project lifespan cannot do without clear and authentic communication. The information circuit can be made up of both formal and informal means of communication. The aim is to raise awareness of all involved in the project and present apparent means of resolving conflicts and dealing with problems in an atmosphere of openness and trust.

So how do we apply this to our daily lives? Well we work in teams more often than we think we do. Beyond the obvious teams at the workplace and on the playing field, teams include your family and your primary intimate relationship.

These questions may act as pointers: Who have you chosen as your significant other? Why has he/she picked you as a lifelong partner? What is your vision for yourselves as a couple and what are your shared values? How do you contribute to the relationship? What does love mean to you? How often, how deeply and how do you communicate?

Your fortunes are tied closely to that of your team…