Ever been told there are some things you just can’t do because of physical limitations? You know, that you should be realistic because the people that are successful in particular field all have certain physical attributes. Maybe you are too short to be a basketball player, or maybe sports of any sort just aren’t for you because you’re blind.

You can believe such things if you want. I’d rather not. There are some amazing people in this world that show us that we can pretty much do what we set our minds to do, despite the perception of limitations by others.

One of the starters on our high school basketball team was about half the height of the other players. Short, indeed, he was. All the other players literally towered over him. So how the heck could he be a starter?

Instead of seeing his shortness as a hindrance to be overcome, he saw it as advantage to be used. He was quick, and though he couldn’t quite fit through their legs, he could whiz around his opponents, dribbling all the way.
His dribbles were so low that those tall guys became a little awkward when they attempted to steal the ball. With basketball being a team sport, our starter would get the ball to his mates to compete at the higher levels.

Ever heard of Mike May? He was just a typical little boy until a garage explosion left him blind and needing 500 stitches. Nonetheless, he’s seen plenty of victory.

His mother insisted he go to a regular school, when that was not usually allowed. And she let him do anything other boys his age were doing. He rode a bike, and when he crashed it, he asked if he could ride his sister’s. The May garage eventually became home to four mangled bikes.

His mother set aside her protective instincts and told Mike that all kids fall down when trying new things. And so it should come as no surprise to learn that Mike also played flag football, soccer and baseball.
That continues to be the spirit with which Mike chooses to live his life. After Mike set a record in downhill skiing, a reporter asked his mother how she had raised her blind boy. She replied, “What blind boy, I raised my son.”

Mike is also a sky diver, lecturer, guitarist, and was the first blind CIA analyst. There’s more to his story, including how he regained some of his sight. It’s all in his inspirational book titled, Crashing Through.
If we look in earnest, we can probably find an example of someone overcoming just about any physical limitation to achieve what others thought they could not. And while that takes determination when from birth you are without all abilities, it takes a special will to move on when physical capabilities you’ve enjoyed are taken away midlife.

A child prodigy, Leon Fleischer made his public debut on piano at the age of 8 after four years of training. He continued on to have an amazing career until one day he noticed that the fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand were curling up toward his palm. The condition, called focal dystonia, worsened until all the fingers on that hand were curled into his palm. He was 36.

The piano and performing were Fleisher’s life, literally since the time he was a tot. So how could this world renowned pianist continue without the use of one of his hands? Quite simply, he played concertos created for the left hand. And after some years and various treatments he was able to play two-handed again.

Inspiration comes from those who dare to do what others think impossible. They make the rest of us think twice about our excuses and so called limitations. Perhaps they understand what Kierkegaard proclaimed so long ago:

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.”

Anita Ancel is President of Ancelary Group, a Vermont firm that helps executives and their teams develop attitudes and habits for ongoing success and happiness.

I’ve been on vacation, seeking a different level of balance and some veg time. I read a couple of mysteries, explored some of Canada’s Eastern Townships, and then lessened the activity to increase the quiet and still time.

Filling up days with places and events is often considered a great vacation. And great it is if not for beginning and ending with exhaustion. Its restorative score could be low, as most often vacations are expected to provide a break from schedules and their pressures as experienced in daily routines. A change in place, without pace, doesn’t always leave the residual effect anticipated with a vacation.

And while a change in pace, and not place, may serve up most of the benefits sought, vacations, we should note, are personal, and preferences as such will vary. The key is balance, something we all need and seem to believe is more achievable while on vacation.

Balance can be as elusive as the universal sought after happiness. And there’s a reason: they are intertwined with our state of mind. So while a change in pace or place seem appropriate for creating balance, neither provide a guarantee for a great vacation.

When I think of vacation I’m reminded of the carefree, imaginative and fun-filled days of childhood summers. Playing was the balance I needed then, and now. From creating our Indian village to spending hours throughout the day and evening at the local pool, to climbing a rock face of one of the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi, I was free to explore, create and experience. Our play was simply accepted, with few boundaries. And the appropriate level of silliness was always balanced with equal seriousness.

Self-expression flowed, and laughter came easy and often as we were loving life. With our laughter, we were releasing plenty of those healthy endorphins, which by the way are 10 times more powerful than the pain-relieving drug morphine. And no doubt we were increasing our little hearts’ rate, as in addition to the physical activity, our endless laughter gave it a boost. FYI, just a few minutes of laughter can double your heart rate, according to Dr. William Fry, Jr.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: As children we laughed on average 400 times a day; by age 35 we’ve reduced that to 15. So creating a more healthy balance truly does require a bit more play and laughter, in both the mental and physical sense.

For me, there’s nothing more fun than wandering and pondering. Wandering to see and experience new things, like dark chocolate enrobed blueberries we purchased at the Saint-Benoit-du-Lac Abbey. A burst of fresh berry flavor surprised us, because it was truly fresh and truly a burst.

As for pondering, time is given to those things that just don’t make their way into my brainscape during the normal course of a week. Topic matters not because vacation offers a chance to twirl anything and everything around and peer at them from different perspectives. My mental escapades are free to involve matters of the farfetched and otherwise inconceivable.

Play, mental and physical, has been recognized as a key ingredient of well being and happiness for centuries. Aristotle and Plato spoke of such beliefs. On through history, these beliefs have gained merit through the studies of the brain pertaining to the development and education of children, problem solving, creativity, relationships at home and work, as well as team performances.

According to one study, Schaeffer 1993, play is as important to human happiness and well-being as love and work. By nature we are born to play. It’s a source of energy and excitement, stimulating our bodies and brains. At the same time it provides for calmness, relaxation and improved sleep. Vacations that incorporate play are downright therapeutic.

It has been said that you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. I suspect the same is true in exploration of our selves. I’ve not happened upon too many down sides to play, other than the occasional skinned knee.

So with a hop and a skip, unleash yourself. Get in the spirit, stay in the spirit, be the spirit needed to jump into a fun-filled vacation. Giggle and laugh as if you’ve never grown up. Let vacation be like skinny dipping, where without hesitation you leap in. No clothes, no second thoughts are necessary as you understand life is not a dress rehearsal. Allow yourself to recapture the carefree feelings and well-being of childhood.

Anita Ancel is President of Ancelary Group, a Vermont firm that helps executives and their teams develop attitudes and habits for ongoing success and happiness.

Last week I wrote about how insightful nighttime dreams can be, and it got me to thinking about the benefits of daydreams. The fact is, dreaming is part of everything I do with clients, whether planning for business or life.

But you know, I’ve found we’re not very good at it. Somewhere along the way from childhood to adulthood, dreaming is given less and less time to the point of not even being considered a valid use of our attention. Frivolous, going no where, waste of time, not possible… you name it, dreaming gets tossed into a mental circular with one of these tags.

Sometimes, for those who are lucky, life proves us wrong. One day, a client was excited to share with me that she was going to a ball in Paris. She said she had always dreamed of doing so. A frequent international traveler, speaker and author, it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.

However, when I asked her if going to a Paris ball appeared on her Dream Inventory, she said no, looking a bit puzzled. She added, I didn’t think it would ever happen. Then she realized that she, like so many others, without thinking had been qualifying and limiting her dreams.

Other times, for those who dare to dream and believe, they prove life wrong. Concerted efforts are great at producing a twist of fates. In a business where it is said “most don’t make it the list of actors and actresses that dared to dream is extensive. Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock and Courtney Cox among others have shared their propensity to dream and its impact on drive and achievement.

Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper celebrates the Top 40 under 40, business people who realize their dreams in the first three decades of life. Among the winners’ reasoning for success, you will find reference to dreams.

William Andrew of Ontario says he dares to dream; Rob Dynan says “anything is possible”; and Olga Kovalchuk says to “think positive, dream big.”

The strength of belief was most evident in comments by David Henderson, a 37-year-old also from Ontario: “I believe success involves waking up everyday to relentlessly, rigorously and passionately pursue your dreams of a better world.”

There are so many testimonials that dreaming is part of the formula for success and happiness. Whether a rags to riches story, or a conquering of physical disabilities, or an “I’ll show them” attitude in response to put downs and negative feedback, there seems to be endless proof that dreaming and believing are first steps in great achievements.

Still it is not a practice or belief of the majority. Most want to believe, but somehow never grasp it in an intentional way. I suppose they are more inclined to grip on to an age-old obstacle, that being fear.

Yanni would agree. When releasing his eighth album, titled “Dare to Dream,” back in the ‘90s he said it came “from a realization that not only don’t people go after their dreams, they often are afraid to dream at all.”

Life comes with no guarantee, not an external one anyway. Within, each one of us has access to the only guarantee we need, belief in self and our dreams. A high school entrepreneur, having launched several start-ups and making her first million by graduation, cited belief in self, including one’s dreams, as the No. 1 ingredient for success.

The net is rich with stories and advice on dreaming and achieving. With a few clicks you can immerse yourself in inspiration and all you need to get on with dreaming. As a bit of encouragement, I’ll leave you with a short poem by Julie Anne Ford:

Dare to dream

Simply said, it’s the straightforward truth. So, dare to dream and tap into life’s guarantee.

Anita Ancel is President of Ancelary Group, a Vermont firm that helps executives and their teams develop attitudes and habits for ongoing success.

It was a blustery, winter day, much like those we are all too familiar with in Vermont. But no one was cold, even though they were all outside. I suppose they were hot with excitement, or perhaps fear.

You could hear a father yelling to his son, “Go get your mother, she’ll never have another chance to see anything like this.”

The day was December 9, 1914. The man was the owner of the largest laboratory in the world. His name is a familiar one: Thomas Edison. At age 67, he was watching his research complex go up in flames. All but a few buildings of the Edison Industries burned to the ground that day.

The losses exceeded $2 million. He had some insurance; less than $300 worth though. The building was made of concrete and in those days it was believed fire could not destroy such a structure. That belief couldn’t have been more wrong.

So how do you think our “light up the world” guy reacted? Remember he’s 67; he’d stuck it out through thousands and thousands of attempts (or some might say, mistakes) to succeed in developing the light bulb. How would you react if you showed up at work to find the place lost to fire? Imagine what would be happening in the next few days… the next weeks.

Edison didn’t waste much time wallowing in his sorrow. Nor did he let the expense of his losses drown him in pity or despair. No, it was quite a different reaction.

The next morning he returned to where his life’s work had been housed. While the fire had been brought under control through the night, all that remained were a couple of buildings and smoldering rubble. Edison stood there, looking over his losses. We don’t need to guess what his thoughts were, for he proclaimed:

“There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

And start anew he and his team did, as if there was no time to waste. In just three weeks, Edison Industries introduced the world to a new and better phonograph.

Edison could have been a best selling author with a book on how to move beyond disaster. An appropriate title could’ve been: Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff.

Pretty much, Edison lived his life that way. He didn’t get more squeamish or weak-kneed as he aged. So often, we seem to tire of dealing with even the smaller, everyday adversities as our years accumulate. Not Edison, he kept a strong, youthful and atypical ambitious attitude

His perspectives were not the norm. For example, he never claimed to be an inventor despite his more than one thousand patents. Once when the governor of North Carolina complimented him on his inventiveness, he declared he was not a great inventor. His only claim to an original invention was the phonograph.

He explained all the ideas were not original to him. Instead he referred to himself as a sponge, soaking up ideas any where he could. Those with whom the ideas originated just never developed them. So he’d take them, do a little tweaking and improve them to a point of having value.

How is it that Edison worked his way through about 10,000 attempts to create the light bulb? How many goals have you ever pursued with such persistence? How about your company?

How could he move so many ideas to fruition when those with the actual concept took them no where? How many times have you or a friend had an idea only to see someone else develop it?

Why is it there are a few like Edison who don’t let even the big stuff get in their way, and then there is the majority, who often let even the little stuff stop them?

It’s time for the heart to heart, a look inside, some deep reflection. Can you honestly say you have a habit of pulling yourself up, getting on with life and business no matter the circumstances?

I can hear the excuses now. There’s always a reason why the other guy or gal can move on, but you can’t. There was something special about Edison’s situation, you’re so sure. There’s a piece of the story missing, some advantage or benefit that wasn’t mentioned.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. No special circumstance in this case, just a special person. Edison just didn’t believe in stopping. He didn’t see failure and disaster in the same way as others. Perhaps he didn’t see them at all.

So let’s cop ourselves an Edison attitude, and never acknowledge obstacles in the average way again. Let’s commit to not sweating the big stuff, and moving on.

Anita Ancel is President of Ancelary Group, a Vermont firm that helps executives and their teams develop attitudes and habits for ongoing success.

A few weeks ago I likened a business environment heavy with policy to the culture of a prison. My point was that managing for the worst case employee makes everyone an offender, disengaging them and costing the bottom line.

Let me be the first to say, “Shame on me,” for I was acting as if all prisons are awful places. I stand corrected. There are lessons to be learned from what is tagged as the most humane prison in the world. Located in Norway, Halden Fengsel is featured in this week’s Time magazine.

Before you dismiss me as a nut case, read just a bit further. Let’s treat this as a business case study, relating it to motivating and engaging employees. We’ll judge success on bottom line results as they relate to the vision, mission and core values.

For fairness sake, we need to admit upfront that motivating murderers, rapists and drug dealers to align with the prison’s goals is a bit more of a challenge than getting qualified employees to do likewise for a business. While prisoners are more of a captive audience, their attitudes are generally not conducive to collaboration. And we all know the difference a bad attitude can make.

A prison’s short term goal is to separate criminals from the rest of society. The longer term mission is to rehab criminals, helping them to become contributing citizens instead of repeat offenders. The vision, therefore, is to create a safer world, reducing crime and its overall cost to society.

Halden succeeds on all fronts, especially when compared to the United States. After two years, Time reports, Norway’s recidivism rate is 20 percent, compared to 50 to 60 percent in our country. And there are fewer criminals: 69 per 100,000 people in Norway, to 759 in the U.S.

The spread in these prison success rates can be likened to those established between businesses with the most and least engaged employees. To state the obvious, it’s significant. And in both situations success can be linked directly to the valuing and treatment of individuals.

The Towers Watson 2010 Global Workforce Study, involving 20,000 employees in 22 markets, concludes just that. For businesses to experience optimum results, according to the study, they will need to “create a more personalized work experience and foster self reliance by enabling employees to build their skills, plan for their financial future and live healthy lives…”

In this workforce study as well as the previous one, the relationship between leadership and employees is tagged as being critical. Trust, respect and appreciation for employees are among the gauges that have been correlated with business growth.

Back at the Norway prison, we learn that Halden’s greatest asset may be the relationship between the managing staff and inmates. Instead of carrying guns, guards share meals and engage in sports with those serving sentences.

Referring to them as pupils, the goal is to give inmates “a meaningful life inside these walls.” Through education and work, the intent is to “build them up (and) give them confidence.”

The culture is one of family, and the environment one that could easily be referred to as “home, sweet, home” With long windows to let sunlight in, flat screen TVs, mini fridges and shared kitchens and living rooms, inmates are given comforts unlike most of their real homes.

And not unlike business climate studies, Halden surveys inmates to find out how the prison experience can be improved. It’s a partnership, with organizational and personal goals being respected and realized.

For those who think a prison’s business is that of punishment, I remind you that our own penal system is costly proof that doesn’t work. And for those who think businesses can’t afford the attention or expense to provide much beyond a paycheck for employees, I ask you to compare your results to those companies with engaged employees. You’ll think differently.