DREW SIMMIE

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August 25th, 2020

Coping With the COVID.

There’s a great mystery to life and magic in it, too. As much as you try to plan your direction and think you have it nailed, it’s never a straight line. Life doesn’t go like that.  

Like now. In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything has changed. And we are confronted with a daily stream of changes.

How successfully we cope with all the changes depends totally on our attitude.

Attitude is more important than the past or your education. It’s more important than what others think or say about you do. It’s more important than money, appearances and societal convention. It’s more important than giftedness or skills.

Your attitude is about resilience, honesty, humility, empathy, doing the right things rather than doing things right and, in spite of all that’s going on around you, being the best version of yourself that you can be.

August 17th, 2020

Ask Your Way To Success!

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.  Henry David Thoreau.

Success is dependent upon many factors, among them continuous learning which, in turn,  is directed linked to having an inquiring mind. And not being afraid to ask questions when you don’t know something.

Questions are essential to growth. Many think that they have all the answers. For them, their sense of security and self-image depends upon they’re thinking that they know it all and, worse still, are never wrong.

They try to understand everything in terms of what they already know, but what they already know is rooted in the past.

But here’s the thing: When you think you know it all, when you stop inquiring and learning, you cut off growth that eventually leads to the future.

To embrace what you don’t know means that you have to give up your fear about not already knowing the answers. Learning and improvement, then, only occurs when you are open to new possibilities and courageous enough to ask questions.

Questions like, “What if?” Or, “Why can’t we do it this way or that?” Or, saying, I never that about that. Tell me more.”

You get the idea. The path to success lies ahead and it isn’t easy.

But sometimes asking for help smooths the way.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay connected.

August 11th, 2020

Live Your Purpose. Go For It!

Everyone has been made for some particular work and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. Rumi.

In our COVID-19, changing, challenging world, many today are looking for purpose, something ‘to latch on to,’ something that makes sense with what they’re doing in their daily lives, at home and in the work place.

But here’s the thing. Inherently, there is no purpose in our lives – we have to find it ourselves.

Very few of us are Mozarts. We’ve got to become explorers if we are to find our individual answers. Finding your purpose is not a one-off event. It’s a process of trial and error, a personal inquiry that leads to a continual search until you find it, however long that may take.

But it’s important because meaning or purpose gives you courage. It fires up your imagination and fosters the energy you need to “get out there” every morning.

Regardless of what triggers the inquiry or wherever you happen to be on your journey, something happens to awaken your consciousness to the fact you realize that you are all caught up in a life that is no longer yours.

For any number of reasons, you find your experience, education and observation have started to converge, and life is suddenly coming together in a manner it never had before. You sense the need to take a fresh look at your life, to take stock about what you’re doing and who you are.

There’s no simple answer to this search. I wish I could say there is, but there isn’t.

It all starts with listening. In her book, In America, Susan Sontag wrote that “Each of us carries a room within ourselves, waiting to be furnished and peopled and, if you listen closely, you may need to silence everything in your own room, you can hear the sounds of that other room inside your head.”

Seeking silence involves finding a place and time where you be quiet, where you can just sit for a period of time and have a honest talk with your soul…. and ask yourself a number of serious questions: Start with these:

  1. Am I being honest with myself about the direction of my life?
  2. Am I proud of myself?
  3. What value am I bringing – to my relationships, my work, and any other areas where I need to show up and contribute?
  4. Am I living up to my full potential or sting on my laurels?
  5. Is what I’m doing right now moving me away from or towards my highest aspirations?

These are serious questions. No one but you can answer them, but over time, you’ll arrive at something that just feels right. When you find it, grab it! Run with it!

Living on purpose is a game changer. It isn’t for everybody but you’re not everybody. Keep believing in yourself. Trust yourself. Undoubtedly there will be some trying days. And it won’t always be easy, (no body ever promised that) but when you do, you’ll never look back.

Stay safe. Start strong. Stay connected.

 

 

 

 

 

August 4th, 2020

Mankind’s Better Angels

Even if you are a majority of one, the truth is the truth. Mahatma Gandhi.

Last week, as many of you know, John Lewis was buried after a powerful commemorative service and and a tearful, well-deserved hero’s send-off at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

His last act of heroism, shortly before his death, was to write an essay to the American nation and to thoughtful, caring people around the world, to be published upon the day of his funeral. It was printed on July 30, 2020 in the New York Times.

“Though I am gone,” he began, “I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.” If you are reading this, you’ll want to read the entire essay. You’ll get it. NYT Article: Together, You Can Redeem the Soul Of Our Nation.

We are living is a very difficult time, made dangerous by the COVID-19 virus, outrageous greed, violence, injustice social and economic inequality and the impending disruption of climate change. We’re just way, way over the top.

Solutions abound, answers Lewis contends, but only if each of us will stand up, to do our part and get into good trouble, determined to help right the wrongs and build a better world. We’ve done it before, he reminds us. And we can do it again.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay connected.

For more information, rates, or to set up a meeting:
Email drew@drewsimmie.com or call direct 416.450.8867.