Daily Inspiration 3-22-11

"Can anything be so elegant as to have

few wants, and to serve them one's self?"

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come

as a result of getting something we don't have,

but rather of recognizing and appreciating

what we do have."

-- Frederick Keonig

A movie that I hadn't seen in some time which was made in 2006, came back to my attention and I have watched it again with great enjoyment and moved it way up my list of favorites. The movie is Outsourced. I think it is a great movie and there is so many lessons in it. I consider it a masterpiece of moviedom.

Take a company outsourcing an entire department, sending one VP to oversee the training of the new group in India and mixing the culture of the US with that of India and then throw in a bit of romance for effect, and there you have the basis.

There are a few things that really stand out for me in this movie. One is that fighting a situation is counter productive for everyone involved. It's like happiness. It cannot be fought for, it must be surrendered to. He went there to train them to understand America so they could do their jobs, and he found that until he learned India, he would make little progress. Once he relaxed into learning about India, or rather allowing it to become part of him, he could make so much progress that people back home thought was impossible.

Another thing was the culture shock of going from Seattle to India and how it was numbing in some ways, but once he relaxed into accepting and participating, the shock became a comfortable, confident calmness. He didn't have to give up being an American, just quit fighting the situation. In other words, go with the flow.

I think, how can we relax in our daily situations at work in order to entertain the happiness that is there for the relaxing? One way is that there are other ways of doing a thing, and other ways can be successful and not look the same as we think they should look. We don't have to be right. I thought this after watching the electrical magician who saved the day by rewiring the building in 20 minutes. Amazing.

Another thing was the motivation of employees. It is not so different around the world. We're all human and have the same human desires: respect, dignity, encouragement, acknowledgement, laughter, love, and much more.

Just a few of the many lessons and insights I gleaned from this great movie. And it was fun all at the same time. I like those kind of lessons. . .

What Did You Learn Today?

Spread Some Joy Today--Do something today that you really enjoy. Maybe a long lunch at a matinee movie, or dinner out, or go kart racing. . . just for the fun of it.