I never saw my father cry. Not at my brother’s wedding, our cousin’s funeral or my college graduation. It may have been his buttoned up Teutonic heritage, or former training in the army, but one thing is certain, Dad wasn’t very open with his emotions. Whenever I’d ask him about his feelings, his facial muscles would twitch and he’d fob me off with a “better go ask your mother.”
Somewhere over North Dakota, on a flight bound for Seattle, I finally
mustered up the courage to ask my seat companion where he was headed.
“Nick” told me that he was a pilot from Seattle, working out of New
York. As we swapped stories, it turned out that Nick lived in an
apartment just one block away from me on the Upper East Side.
As
these things often go, we both bike the same loop in Central Park on a
regular basis. We also see the same people: the gal with the red
bandanna, the t.v. celebrity, the music man who carries his radio on his
handlebars, the ex-marine who pedals in his military gear…the list was
long and colorful.
Location: In Good Company Workplaces : 16 West 23rd St., 4th fl. NYC Time: 10:00-4pm Cost: $199. Breakfast & Lunch will be served.
*Jerry
Colonna is a life coach who uses the skills he learned as a venture
capitalist to help businesspeople. Previously, he was a partner with
(JPMP), the private-equity arm of JPMorgan Chase. He joined JPMP from
Flatiron Partners, which he launched in 1996 with partner, Fred Wilson.
This past week, I spent two and a half days participating in the Corporate Athlete Program at The Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Florida. While I was there, I had my body fat measured in a BodPod, practiced interval training, learned how to use a Polar Heart monitor, found my target heart rate zone and reflected on my personal focus and mission.
In a world in which we are daily forced to make decisions that lead us either closer or further from our goals, no tool is as valuable in hewing to our direction as a mission statement. It is a clear, succinct and focused statement of purpose. A carefully thought out mission statement acts as both a harness and a sword—harnessing you to what is true about your life, and cutting away all that is false. A mission statement is, in essence, a written down reason for being—whether for a person or for a company. There are three simple elements to a good mission statement:
In 1993, I ran my first New York City Marathon. Back then, I was a
frightened 20 year-old trying to prove to myself that I had the guts to
complete the famous 26.2 mile event. I did so in unspectacular fashion,
finishing in a respectable time under 4 hours with sore feet and a huge
sense of accomplishment. Since then, I’ve run over 40 marathons
worldwide and the lessons it has taught me continue to inform my life and coaching practice.
That same year, I became acquainted with Dr. George Sheehan
through his columns and books. Though he started running relatively
late in life (beginning at age 45), he quickly became one of the running
movement’s earliest pioneers, and its great philosopher king. "Don't be
concerned if running or exercise will add years to your life," he used
to say. "Be concerned with adding life to your years."
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