The Classic Pamela Positive: Make Criticism Yield to You

“Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite of it, and then it will gradually yield to him.”  –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

No matter how hard it is, we have to face challenging feedback and take some step of action. It’s not easy… but the more we do it, the more we become accustomed to it.   To being honest with ourselves…and to overcoming the challenge.  We grow, we excel, and we move on, up and over it.   With that honesty, as Goethe states, the criticism “will gradually yield to him.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, and natural philosopher, best known for his two-part poetic drama Faust, which he started around the age of twenty-three and didn’t finish till shortly before his death sixty years later. He is considered one of the greatest contributors of the German Romantic period. At the age of sixteen, in 1765, Goethe went to Leipzig University to study law as his father wished, though he also gained much recognition from the Rococo poems and lyric he wrote during this period. In 1766 he fell in love with Anne Catharina Schoenkopf (1746-1810) and wrote his joyfully exuberant collection of poems Annette.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe now rests in the Fürstengruft or “Royal Tomb” in the “Historic Cemetery” in Wiemar where his dear friend Schiller is also laid to rest. In honour of these two famous German men of letters, a statue of Goethe and Schiller now stands at the German National Theatre in Munich. UNESCO’S “Memory of the World” list includes the handwritten works of Goethe preserved by the Goethe-Schiller-Archive.

Bio Source: The Literature Network

Confessions of a Caffeine-a-holic

I used to be a Caffeine-a-holic, even when I wasn’t drinking any.  I still craved it.

So when I was getting off caffeine, it took me three times.  The first two were outwardly successful.  I got my caffeine intake very, very low, and my energy was natural and in line with who I really was.  But I still craved, oh so craved,  desperately, that Diet Coke.  I wanted the feeling of those sparkly bubbles in my tummy.  Somehow, it soothed my soul.

That craving made me realize I wasn’t fully healed.

Later on I met a very special intern who worked for me at UniversalGiving.  He remains a close friend today, and his name is Austin Smith.  He was a star runner at Princeton, and he and I were very much aligned with taking care of ourselves, from the vision we had for our lives, to our day-to-day living.

One day we were talking about how I’d never done drugs.  And his response was, “yes, you have, and you do.”

I was shocked and he was right.  As he related, caffeine is one of the most powerful drugs that we have.

Through his inspiration and gentle wake-up call, I was able to begin another attempt at getting off caffeine.  With quiet prayer, encouragement, patient trust and a gentle, enduring sense of a moment by moment commitment, I was able to make a true transition this time.  I was ready to be healed not only of drinking caffeine, but also of the craving for it.  I was inspired by the principle that I wanted to do the right thing and be honest for what was really happening in my life. I was indeed doing drugs. And I didn’t want anything to do with it.

For the first three months I literally ran home to go to bed because I was so exhausted, falling asleep at nine or nine-thirty… I was scared I’d never be out dancing salsa or swing again.  But eventually my body rhythm recalibrated itself… Now I get nice amounts of sleep, unrelated to any effects from caffeine.  The beauty of it all is that I no longer crave the Diet Coke or coffee.

That’s true healing…which includes not only body, but also peace of mind…and the peace of living in principle.

This post is part of “How This CEO Needs to Grow,” Pamela’s series about being transparent in the areas she is working on to be a better person and leader.

The Classic Pamela Positive: Words of Wisdom

I am always searching for ways to grow as an individual. Great authors I love are Bill George & Stephen Covey; great leaders I love are Desmond Tutu and Mother Teresa.

I came across this inspiring brief film by Andrew Zuckerman, cataloguing what many of our leaders across different sectors, thought about wisdom. I hope you enjoy: http://www.wisdombook.org/

Stay inspired and true.

The Classic Pamela Positive: Sticking with the Beauty of Loving Yourself and Others

A past article by fellow Fast Company blogger, Alicia Morga, advised: “Adopt the Cindy Crawford motto: no flaws…stick with the beauty of loving yourself and others.”

As Cindy Crawford says, “Never point out your flaws but do admit to your mistakes.”

What a powerful distinction.  Cindy is an accomplished wife, mother, businesswoman, spokesperson and model.  She’s demonstrated beauty in so many ways, specifically through her acumen, well-spoken manner, desire to make a beautiful life and home accessible to everyone, and most importantly, knowing that true lasting beauty starts and comes from within.

Beauty is about trusting yourself, appreciating your unique qualities, just as we should for other people. It’s one of our greatest age old wisdoms, to love your neighbor as yourself.  And to love our neighbor as ourselves, we have to start with, yes, you and me.

So as Cindy advises…don’t point out areas of yourself that are weak. You might be working on those, and we all have areas of improvement. Do demonstrate your positive qualities of intellect, kindness, graciousness, honesty, selflessness.  We recognize and celebrate these abundantly.

There will be a time, many times, when we all need to own up to mistakes or ways we can be better.  Then we most assuredly, with rapid fire, should admit our mistake, and where necessary apologize.  Part of our beauty is cultivating caring, honest, open relationships where we admit where we could have been better.  With this admittance comes strength and a more beautifully enduring relationship with others — and ourselves.

Truth is beauty.  We start with the Truth of what is good about us and others.  We stay with that until we find a time when we need to admit where we fell down. And we avoid simply putting others, or ourselves, down at all.

Stick with the Beauty of loving yourself and others.

Cindy Crawford was a popular supermodel of the ’80s and ’90s.  She has also been involved in fitness campaigns, and appeared in TV and movies.  Since retiring from modeling in 2000, she has been working in beauty products and a home furnishings line.  Her younger brother, Jeff, died of leukemia when Cindy was ten, and childhood leukemia has been a major focus of her charity work. 

The Pamela Positive: “Before You Can Give Yourself Away, You Must Have a Self to Give.”

“Before you can give yourself away, you must have a self to give.” – Isabel Hickey

Similar to George Gurdjieff’s commitment to self and spirit before serving others, Isabel Hickey realized that we must put ourselves first.  In so doing, we become strong and committed to giving ourselves the best, and then we can give our best selves unto others…

Isabel Hickey was an American astrologer and writer who practiced Humanist Astrology with a psychological approach. She is considered the Mother of Astrology in the Sixties and Seventies.  She wrote “Astrology, A Cosmic Science,” “It Is All Right” and “Minerva or Pluto, The Choice Is Yours.”