Well, hello,
Here is your weekly dose of GOING FOR THE GUSTO, a sensory expedition to awaken and stoke your passion and purpose for zesty living. This newsletter is a sharing of what I’m learning, experiencing, and exploring to invigorate your life and work. I draw from this content from my everyday life and how it informs the ways I serve clients through my writing, speaking and consulting. Let it be your “goodness vitamin” to lift you to keep you on the path toward a meaningful and purposeful life and fortified for the journey. Feel free to forward along if the spirit moves you.
What I’m currently working on right now … Your Search for Meaning course, a joint venture with two fellow logotherapists – Dr. Baruch HaLevi and Dr. Dan Franz on The Meaning Academy platform. We created this course for people who crave a deeper connection to the everyday experience of life, and for those who want to infuse their work or leadership with inspiration to elevate team connection, engagement, and results. Check out the course here. We’ll be conducting an informational webinar about the course on November 16th, or you can book a call with us to learn more and see if the course is right for you. The course begins Jan 18th – a great way to kick off the New Year!
(see the offer at the very end of this post)
What Delights Me (heart)
I am not one to read much fiction, mostly because as friends have quipped, “I’m a radio show host with a reading problem,” meaning I read my guests’ non-fiction book cover to cover reach week in preparation for the conversation. I do this to keep myself growing and learning for my own fulfillment and also to better serve my clients. So, it has been an absolute delight to give myself over to the novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. The author manages to depict the inner life and unlikely friendship between an aquarium-housed octopus and the main character Tova, who is an older widow who cleans the premises. The story is an intimate showcase of life of everyday people with hopes, dreams, and sorrow, against the backdrop of an extraordinary companion. Give it a look on Amazon, and let me know if you pick it up.
What I’m Learning (head)
On the Working on Purpose podcast, I had the CEO of WorkProud, Michael Levy, on to talk about the latest thinking on employee recognition as a way to increase belonging and engagement. Michael and his team have helped 450 companies greatly improve their engagement scores and reduce turnover through the design and development of award-winning employee reward and recognition programs. As the CEO and co-founder of WorkProud, he regularly advises and implements the recognition strategy for Fortune 1,000 HR innovators.
Catch the interview here for many more pearls. And do me a favor? If you like my program, subscribe to the You Tube channel and whatever other podcast platform it’s on that you listen to (there are at least 28 other places it’s syndicated). Thanks so much for your support and showing the love.
What Moves Me (soul)
As I am interested in stewarding my consciousness journey as I help organizations and leaders do the same, I often opt into podcasts and shows featuring spiritual intelligence and existential matters. I stumbled on the movie, After Death, which is a 2023 American film written and directed by Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke. The film chronicles the stories of various near-death experience survivors, and features analysis of these events by authors and scientists as they try to determine what happens after we die. The film features interviews, as well as re-enactments of the events, as they try to solve life’s greatest mystery (from Wikipedia). As a social scientist and existential psychology enthusiast (logotherapist), I found this film incredibly thought-provoking and intelligent, a wonderful use of 100 minutes to contemplate this incredible thing called life. Highly recommend it (though, as you may imagine, it doesn’t get 100 percent rave reviews).
Onto Awakening the Senses …
What I Smell
The crisp air of Fall! Finally, it’s here in Dallas. Fall is my favorite season, and I relish the cool temperatures.
What I Hear
The sound of the rain gently laying itself down onto the earth, drop by drop, outside my window. I love the rain. She speaks to me. Today, she’s saying, “let’s take things inward, be contemplative, consider all there is in this great expanse of the living universe. Be quiet, listen.” It’s just the quiet reset I know I need among the rush of all the activities I’ve been immersed in the last few weeks.
What I See
The magical experience of watching the leaves fall from the trees, their potpourri mix of dancing colors mesmerizing my gaze. As I walk or run through my tree-lined street, I like to imagine that the tree is tossing her leaves down to me to see if I can catch them. I take delight in her playfulness and willingness to engage with me as I pass her by. A tiny little glimpse of magic.
What I Taste
Being from the Northwest, I was accustomed to plentiful and exquisitely tasty Asian fare. Dallas is more known for its Hispanic influence in food fare. So, I was delighted to find The Fortune House on Lower Greenville. Their chicken mu shu was an absolute flavor bomb, just what I wanted!
What I Feel
Halloween fun! As I went downtown to enjoy dinner with a friend at The Henry in Uptown Dallas, I missed the tradition of opening the door to squealing trick or treaters and handing out candy. So, this year, I dutifully bought the candy, placed the individually wrapped goodies in a large bowl, and set them outside on a chair at my front door with a sign that said, “Happy Halloween. ‘Treat’ Yourself!” I don’t usually get a lot of traffic on this festive occasion, and I secretly hoped on my drive back home that I wouldn’t find a whole bowl of candy left for ME to consume. To my surprise, there were only 6 little pieces left. Mostly butterfingers, if you must know.
What I’m Grateful For
The confidence I cherish in my relationships with clients as we navigate our work together developing them as leaders or working on elevating or strengthening the culture of their company. One of my top 10 values is intimacy, and I cherish the sacred nature of the work I get to do helping people understand where their mindsets may be limiting them, help them navigate fear as they step into unknown territory, and take on their next big challenge. That I get to live on this deeply personal and vulnerable place with the people I serve is deeply fulfilling and gratifying.
To living with passion and working on purpose, all with GUSTO! Alise
Special Offer: If you want to kick off your New Year right by enrolling in a 6-month virtual course on Your Search for Meaning, contact me to get $400 off tuition.
