Los Suenos Institute

The Mindset of a Revolutionary

by Sueños on 02/02/17

Whether its in your community or workplace we all have changes we would like to see. Whether it's launching a product that will revolutionize an industry, creating profound social change, or simply organizing a community garden, it takes vision and commitment of a special sort to attain meaningful change. Today I wanted to theorize what some of those might be.

A Commitment to a Larger Ideal
In my post "How Transforming Work Culture Can Transform Your Brand" I discussed how a company's commitment to a larger ideal can lead to groundbreaking discoveries and performance. However, being able to inspire people toward larger ideals is necessary for any revolution. Whether that's a future made simpler through technology, or happier through outstanding customer experiences, to think as a revolutionary we must commit ourselves to these larger principals, so that solutions to them will occur as antecedents.

Attentiveness
Now that you've decided what you would like to inspire in the world, now it's time to look for place to implement it. It's through attentiveness that we are able to see where opportunities to seek our larger ideal might lie. Maybe you want to increase access to nutritional food in your area, a good idea might be to petition your local city government to allow an open lot to be used for a community garden. Or you're a community organizer working for social equality, perhaps a town hall where people can voice their concerns might be a starting point. Whatever it is, it is important that you constantly sample the needs of other people, so that your solution will have the largest impact possible.

Undying Resolve
In the face of defeat it can seem tantalizing to join everyone else in continuing as you always have, but if you read this post, I'm guessing you have a bit of "save the world" in you. Hold onto that. It's that confidence that what you stand for will ultimately make the lives of others better, even if you're not around to see it. Vincent Van Gogh never sold a painting during his life time, yet who could argue now that his paintings did not inspire millions after his death? I'm reminded of one of my favorite Emerson quotes on the topic of success,

"to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded."

So, I encourage you, allow one life to breathe easier this day through radically new ideas, and impossibly large dreams.

This is a guest post by one of our coaches Diego-Andreas. If you like what you read, make sure to follow his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com

Comments (0)

HOW GOOD FRIENDS MAKE YOU CREATIVE

by Sueños on 02/01/17

In a time when the term friend is being redefined by the social media networks we belong to, the act of friendship has not. Being a friend is not something which comes by a click of a mouse. It is the investment of yourself. Many times when we look at at our professional life we think these are not friends these are associates and you will be correct that is what they will be. Because you have not invested. Professional settings bind people. For many of us it consumes the majority of waking hours of the week. Professional settings also are challenging environments which raise the stress levels in our lives. Stress creates a biochemical bond between individuals sharing the stressful environment. Survivors of earthquakes, fires, wars, and 911 have reunions and stay in communication a life time. Everyday we go to work we meet challenges together and survive. Our bodies raise levels of norephinephrine and epinephrine to meet these challenges. Jointly experiencing these biochemical changes binds us at much more profound levels than earlier thought. With each challenge you face together and subsequently succeed at confidence and trust develops amongst the participants. Levels of serotonin are raised along with mutual trust and respect. It is in this state the state of low positive, a state of feeling safe and secure where creativity lives. When you are biochemically at high levels of serotonin you are at your most creative. When you are surrounded by friends and feel safe and appreciated you are at your most creative. I have been blessed in my life and have had the pleasure and honor to spend my professional life with great friends. I would like to list them here and say Thank You but I am afraid I would leave someone out. I will though reach out to them this week and let them know. My advice to you is do the same and say, "Thank You For Being My Friend."

Comments (0)

An Open Letter to Those Who Feel Helpless

by Sueños on 01/31/17

To Those Who Feel Helpless,

Do not feel ashamed. How could we know what it feels like to be powerful, if we did not feel its absence? In much the same way music is made interesting by a change in pitch, so is life made beautiful by its difference in mood. What hero could exist in the absence of tenuous circumstances? Just as feelings of power give way to feelings of helplessness, so shall your feelings of helplessness give way to feelings of power. A sense of falling apart at the seems may feel as though it has overtaken you, it too will pass. It is the agony which pours the foundation for ecstasy. Do not give up by listening to your own narrative, look instead, for opportunities to feel powerful. Give of your time, and you will see what impact you can make. Share your smile with someone new, and you will see how it can change a day. Your power is in your generosity. If you give, you'll be surprised what you can get. Tomorrow is a new day, and you can always try and make it feel like one.

Much Love,

Andreas

This is a guest blog from one of our coaches Diego-Andreas. If you like this post, and want to see more like it, check out his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com

Comments (0)

Take a Moment, Take a Walk

by Sueños on 01/30/17

This morning as I watched two eagles land in their nest behind our institute, I was reminded that not everyone has nature quite as accessible or untouched as we do. However, it still couldn't help but remind me of the walks I used to take on my breaks while I was working at Home Depot's call center. The center was in a large business complex with two central streets that connected it to the free way at either end. Along each of these streets was a strip of grass with great big oak trees that had been planted back when the complex was a military base. On the west most side of depot there was a small nature reserve that housed large bull frogs and a whole host of native species.

It was on the sidewalk between the freeway and the nature reserve where I took my walks to the tune of the bullfrogs croaking. They were the only reason I lasted in that job as long as I did. While the initial on-boarding process had me very excited about the company, Home Depot treats its employees very well, within just a couple of months I discovered that job wasn't the right fit for me. (Call centers take a special kind of patience which is akin only to sainthood.) I remember one evening in particular.

I had just finished an extraordinarily trying call and finally had time for a break. The melody from the buzzing, bright, white fluorescent lights and the clicking of my soles against the linoleum break room floor played, somehow, in dis-concordant harmony with the extravagantly painted evening sky and the quiet murmurings of the forest. Like the soft rippling noise right when you put a needle on a record player.

When I sat back at my phone, I wore a smile that can only be brought about by dragonflies on a summer's night. It was exactly the boost of spirit I needed before returning to work. I took my next call, and proceeded to talk to a woman about what toilet seat would be best for her cat. Life, was bizarrely good.

This is a guest post by one of our coaches, Diego-Andreas. If you like what you read, and would like to see more posts like it, check out his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com

Comments (0)

3 Awesome Things That Happen When You Fail

by Sueños on 01/27/17

We've been conditioned to think of failure as the worst possible thing that could happen to us. From the time we were children we were all graded on our performance, and in my case my parents expected nothing less than an A. While it almost always feels preferable to succeed, sometimes what's best for us to fail. Today I wanted to talk about some of the best things that happen when we fall right on our face.

We're Forced to Reevaluate
When we fail we have no choice but to look at what went wrong. Sometimes we notice lapses in our behavior, or times we failed to correctly prioritize. Other times we have a truly serendipitous moment in which we realize the thing we were seeking isn't what we really wanted at all. Failing gives us the opportunity to make sure it's something we really want, and not something someone else wants for us.

We're Humbled
It's easy in a corporate environment to get carried away with it all. The titles, corporate spending accounts, and speaking invitations can lead us to believe we've ascended to divinity. However, sometimes we need the swift kick in the ass that comes from losing it all in an instant. We can then start to think about what we truly value, and what really makes us happy.

We Have the Opportunity to Refine
Sometimes failing isn't due to lack of knowledge, but a lack of practice. We find that we didn't quite make the cut because we hadn't gotten our timing correctly, or because our experiment wasn't trying manipulate the correct variables. Whatever the case may be, we now have an opportunity to make ourselves better. A lobster must shed its shell, so that it may grow. Likewise, we must sometimes experience pain, so that we may come back stronger.

Keeping these three things in mind when you find yourself under performing, will allow you to save yourself from much despair. It allows us to view our failures as opportunities to improve ourselves, rather than reflections of who we are. Always remember failing is something you do, it is never who you are.

This was a guest blog from one of our coaches Diego-Andreas. If you like this post, and want to see more like it, check out his blog at www.wonderingintomyself.com

Comments (0)