Lori M. Grant - life is a venn diagram

In my latest Smart Lemming Rundown podcast, I discuss how much I love a new tool that I discovered in the book, Passion at Work.
I have seven projects that I spend my time on. I found myself feeling randomized, since I didn’t the structure I was looking for.
What should I work on Saturdays and Sundays? [...]

I was surprised to read in The Dharma of Star Wars that Luke demonstrated wisdom in Return of the Jedi. I mean I was “surprised,” but not surprised. The book’s author Matthew Bortolin provides an insight into Luke that I had failed to recognize.
Luke’s never been a favorite character for me in the Star Wars [...]

Walking in Happiness
The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin continues in its teachings by discussing the Eightfold Path. Buddha was the creator and original master of the Eightfold Path. When the Path is practiced, joy, peace, and insight are there. The Eightfold Path does not lead us away from the Dark Side, but when [...]

Buddhism & The Notion of Suffering
After understanding the dark side within, I was curious about the Buddhist perspective on the causes of suffering. Suffering is defined as the inability to accept things as they are without grasping or turning away. It’s not the feeling of fear, or the desire for revenge; suffering is the attachment [...]

Funny how books can be timely. I ordered The Dharma of Star Wars and The Tao of Star Wars a few weeks ago. I was interested in reading about the Dharma perspective when applied to Star Wars. Dharma is a Buddhist doctrine or the teachings of Buddha. The author of The Dharma of Star Wars [...]

Deconstructing Anakin’s Destiny
I enjoy the free will versus destiny element of Star Wars series, playing out for Anakin. It wasn’t an “either/or” situation. Anakin made choices every step of the way, using his free will, but ultimately his fate resulted in the Chosen One prophecy coming to pass. So was it really free will? That is [...]

Sarah once asked me, “What is it about Star Wars? You can watch those movies over and over again, why?” I gave her a simple answer, “Because I like Anakin’s storyline. For me, all six movies are really about Anakin, not Luke, not Leia, just Anakin. I find his journey fascinating.” Besides, I have a [...]

A Perpetual 32-Year Old
A couple of days ago, I thought, “I’m a grown up now? When did I that happen?!” Sounds strange, but you have to understand, I’ve always seen myself as a perpetual 32-year old. And for me, being a late bloomer, being a 32-year old meant I was in graduate [...]

Ten years ago, Tom Peters wrote The Brand You 50 - Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an “Employee” into a Brand that Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion! He championed the idea that white-collar workers should brand themselves as high impact workers. Loyalty to a company was out, while acting like an independent contractor was [...]

I consider myself a lucky person. I pay attention to my intuition; however, I’m not impulsive when luck crosses my path. When bad things happen, I quickly contain the situation, and then figure out the lessons learned and how to avoid it in the future. After containment, I determine what the positive outcome is from [...]

Do you make your life more complicated so you don’t feel like you’re making progress on your goals? Do your viewpoints and attitudes get in the way of your success? Do barriers always seem to inhibit your progress? Do obstacles have a negative impact on your self-confidence? If you answered “yes” to any of these [...]

I just read the Wall Street Journal’s article “Stress So Bad It Hurts — Really” by Melinda Beck. It serves as a reminder that stress can cause more than just elevated anxiety levels or other non-physical ailments. If you aren’t managing your stress, look for the following symptoms of stressing taking a physical toll on [...]

I travel a lot, so I worry about plane crashes. I also live near an active volcano, so I often think, “If Mt. Rainer blows, will we survive?” While I doubt I’ll ever be in a plane crash (knock on wood) or see Mt. Rainer erupt (which would be kind of cool), I want to [...]