Jim Clemmer: Quit Working, Diminish Your Fears, and Open Up for Growth

The following is a management-related blog from Jim Clemmer. To read more of his blogs, click here

When I moved down the street from a grocery store job to a career in sales that eventually led me into this field, the president of the company made a comment that became a career goal and life beacon for me: “When you love what you’re doing, you never have to work again.”  

This came to mind as I prepared next month’s issue of The Leader Letter  (published next Wednesday) and realized this is the start of my ninth year writing The Leader Letter (first published in April 2003.) Most of the time the twice weekly blogs that become the following month’s Leader Letter  is more pleasurable than “real work.” I hope that you’ve found my blog posts are worth far more than you’re paying for them! Since each month’s blog posts are roughly the length of my average book chapter, you’re reading the equivalent of a book a year with eight blog posts per month.

All back issues of The Leader Letter are archived on our web site at Jim Clemmer’s Leader Letter. In that archive you’ll find an index of over 30 topics under headings of General, Organization Improvement, Self Leadership, and Leading Others. That same index is used for the more than 300 short articles available on our site.

American cartoonist, Doug Larson, once observed, “spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” Having spent most of February in a hot Australian summer, then back to Canada for some more winter featuring our biggest snow storm in four years, I do feel like whistling as the snow disappears and spring arrives. But if we didn’t have cold snowy Canadian winters, spring wouldn’t be so pleasant.

There’s some uncertainty about the origins of the name for the month of April. The roots of the month’s name are often traced to the Latin “aperire” which means “to open.” This refers to the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when trees and flowers open and renew their growth cycle. However, April Fool’s Day (be ready for it tomorrow!) just might fall in this month because of the tricks Mother Nature loves to play on us! One day it’s warm spring and the next day winter is back with a vengeance.

I hope you’ve found the past few blogs on fear and stress helped you avoid being an April Fool (or any time of the year) and fall into the traps of our emotional dark side. As the clever and well used acronym for fear reminds us: False Expectations Appearing Real.

May your shoes stay dry and your fears diminish as you open your mind and boost your growth in April!

 

For over 30 years, Jim Clemmer’s practical leadership approaches have been inspiring action and achieving results. He has delivered thousands of keynote presentations, workshops, and management team retreats to hundreds of organizations around the globe moving his audiences from inspiration to application. He’s listed in the World’s Top 30 Most Influential Leadership Gurus based on research with 22,000 global business people, consultants, academics and MBAs. His website is www.JimClemmer.com.