Cooperation. Amazing things happen when we work together.

This past week I had the opportunity to do some professional development training with a colleague. I learned a lot, but the most powerful lesson was the reminder about the power of cooperation. By having someone who knows my field, to bounce ideas off of, I was able to come up with new strategies and outlooks that I could never have created alone.

You've probably heard of a principal called "synergy". Synergy has became a major buzzword a over the last decade or so. In fact it's been used so much that it's probably lost it's meaning for many, but it's a powerful concept that anyone who wants to succeed in business, in school and in life, should understand. Synergy is defined as: 'two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently'. In other words, in math 2 + 2=4 but in synergy, 2+2 might equal 10.

"Pyramid" or Multi-Level Marketing businesses employ this principal very effectively. Say what you will about these types of businesses, they understand the concept of exponential growth and synergy. They understand that four people working together can accomplish more than double what two people can.

So where could you be employing synergy in your life right now? Who should you call to talk about a project? Make this the week you start to think cooperatively!

Do it Because You Can... And Someday You Won't Be Able To

Today I received a health update about an acquaintance of mine and it inspired me to write this week's article. You see, Linda and I met at the Ottawa Marathon in 2006. She was running the full marathon. Then this past winter, in her early 50's, Linda had a massive stroke. At first we weren't sure she would make it at all. Now nine months later, she's still here, but she is still not able to stand or walk, let alone run. While we're all hopeful, the truth is, she will likely never run again.

Linda's story is sad and one reasonable reaction to it would be to get discouraged, curse the fact that life is so unfair, and decide that there's no point. My reaction was different, and I know it would make Linda proud. I decided to use Linda's experience to help me to remember how lucky I am to be ABLE to do the things that I do, especially running. I use her story to fuel what I call a "GET TO" attitude rather than a "HAVE TO" one.

In distance running, as in life, there are many times when it is easy to feel like our training program is a list of things we have "have to" do. Today I ran 16k and in truth, when I woke up this morning, I wasn't looking forward to doing it. It was a hot morning, the route was full of hills, and it is the longest run I've done in a while. If I'd had a good reason, I'd have skipped it. But I didn't have a good reason and so I went out and did it. But it wasn't until I got back home and checked my email that I realized what a great run I had.

I opened my email to find the update on Linda, and how much she is still struggling to get back to 25% of where she once was, and I realized that I was extremely fortunate to have done what I just did, and that realization changed my whole perspective on not just this run, but my running and my life in general.

How do you approach your daily tasks? How do you feel when you go to work in the morning? What feeling do you have when you set out to do something that maybe isn't your favourite thing to do? What if you looked at it with the story of a person like Linda in mind? The truth is, no matter what you're doing in the run of a day, there is probably someone, somewhere, who would LOVE to have the opportunity to be doing it.

Are you frustrated sitting in traffic? Think of the person who can't afford a car. Are you dreading the hour on the treadmill this afternoon? Think of the person who can't walk. Can't think of anything good to make for supper? Think of the mother who struggles to feed her children. The more we're able to appreciate our ability to do things, the more we're able to enjoy life.

So why run marathons? Because I can. What can you do that you should be doing?

Making Tough Decisions

This week I received a major surprise and unwittingly, I was thrust into one of those times in life when you reach a fork in the road and you're forced to make a decision that you know will affect your life from that moment forward - a moment of truth. Either things will continue down road A or you'll choose to go down road B and things will change; maybe for the better or maybe for the worse.

I don't deal with these situations particularly well. I've never been a great decision- maker, in fact I still struggle to decide what to order in a restaurant. Needless to say, when I'm faced with a major life decision, I really have a tough time and so this past week has caused me a great deal of angst.

I spent a day and a half mulling over whether or not to embark on the new road that was presented to me, not knowing where it would lead, or stick to the road I was heading on the day before. It was truly a difficult decision. After all, I'm all about seizing opportunities and taking risks. I believe that you miss out on a lot of life of you aren't willing to do that, but I also believe in the pursuing your goals with intense focus. Choosing the new road, would mean abandoning that focus for a new one.

In the end I realized that what appealed to me about the new opportunity was outweighed by what I would be giving up. What I already have was way too good to leave behind, and that's how I knew that saying "no" to the new opportunity was the right decision. When you're faced with a major decision, how do you cope? What tools and techniques do you employ to know for sure that you're making the best decision you can? Post your answers in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.