Nine Lives

Abu Dhabi and The End of the Blog

I have decided to end this blog as the traffic is meager.  I think I would be better off spending my energy on books and correspondence or perhaps writing for the Top Performer web site.  I will write one more paragraph about Abu Dhabi and then call it quits.

Abu Dhabi

I have been to Dubai twice to give talks and Oman once.  On those trips I found the region interesting but I never felt like I made a human connection with the native people.  Most of those who came to my talks were from of the 140 countries represented in the Emirates and providing the majority of the workers.  So when I was asked to speak to the "change committee" in Abu Dhabi I was a bit dubious, but decided to give it one more try. I am so happy I made that decision.  I loved the people of Abu Dhabi and felt that I had made a real human connection and a real contribution.  Keep your eye on Abu Dhabi.  They too are anticipating a time when the oil will run out.  They too want to increase tourism and expand their financial markets.  For me, their strategy, a strategy that includes building the capacity of the native people, seems destined to not only be successful but to bring a new meaning to the words, transformational change.  And with those words I bring this blog to a close.

Florence with David Whyte

For the last 10 days my wife Janell and I have been in the company of the poet David Whyte in the hills outside of Florence, Italy, along with 30 equally ardent companions.  We would spend the morning with David, listening to him talk and recite poetry designed to open the soul to a new conversation with the world.  In the afternoon and evening we would hike through the vineyard and olive country along back roads and trails.  There were no bullhorns, tour buses or frantic dashes from one site to another.  The pace was measured, the visits respectful and the relationships adult.  And from time to time we were joined by Italian artists, musicians, historians, butchers, chefs, fisherman and one really neat Count and Countess.  One evening we heard a 92 year old woman recite a poem she wrote at the age of 16, after the allies drove out the Germans in WWII. Most of the eyes were damp. It will be difficult to be an every day tourist after this experience.

My life is in transition.  The intense travel of the last 10 years will be slowly replaced with a bit of old fashioned routine.  I look forward to being a home body for a while and spending more time in my studio surrounded by words.  It is a time of simplification, inner downsizing and becoming acquainted with parts of me that have long been forgotten.  It is an exciting time and I feel an intense anticipation of things unknown and undone.  Life is good.

Portugal

It is 11/23/2007, the day after Thanksgiving and this is the first time I can remember being out of the country on Thanksgiving day. Janell and I are in Portugal taking a few days vacation on either side of a talk I gave yeasterday to Vivafit. Vivafit is a Portugese fitness company a bit like Curves. They have a circuit that a woman can go through in about 30 minutes. Their mission is to bring fitness to "non exercising" women and they just opened their 63rd franchise. I love this little company and I love working in the fitness industry as I am a true believer in the value of fitness.

Today as we toured the ruins of a Moorish Castle dating back to the 9th Century I thought about all the things I usually think about on Thanksgiving. I feel so grateful for the many blessing in my life, my wonderful family and great friends and colleagues. I spent some quiet time in an ancient turret facing the sea and dwelled on the beauty of creation and the gift of creating. I am so fortunate to be working with talented colleagues like Carr and Mick and John. It has been so cool to publish CATS: The Niine Lives of Innovation with Management Press in Brisbane. Natural energy seems to flow from so many of my ventures and associations these days. Why did I spend so much of my life pushing against things that resisted movement. May your life be full of natural energy and may you, if you have not already, discover the joy of creating.