Recently I was asked the following question: If you could only teach one skill, what would that be? My colleagues from Human Resources to Consulting to Executive Coaching responded to this question by supplying specific skills such as active listening, asking good questions just to name a few. Their responses were thorough, eloquent and logical, but not even close as to how I answered the question.

The question was excellent. Individuals were required to reflect before they could respond. Albert Einstein wrote many years ago "Without deep reflection, one knows from daily life that one exists for other people. ? Thousands of years before Einstein Confucius stated that "study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous. ?

As Einstein indicated, reflection is necessary for individual self-awareness. And yet, how much actual time do we as individuals, small business owners, entrepreneurs, parents or executives actually spend on reflection? The harried pace of today's world provides a convenient excuse for not taking the time to reflect.

How often do we hear:

*I'm too busy to be bothered with that?

*I have fires to put out?

* I can't think about yesterday because I need to deal with today?

*Why did I do that because everybody else does that?

When was the last time that you reflected? For me, it was at a recent wake and funeral of a dear man who wasn't a relative, but someone whom I had lovingly called Uncle for over 50 years. At the wake, a slide show was presented showing pictures of his life. My family was in many of those photographs and I reflected upon those childhood experiences. This reflection caused me to shed some quiet tears as I reconnected with those almost forgotten memories. I realized how much I had changed and how that change had positively affected me.

So, if you could teach one skill to your child, student, friend, employee or even yourself, what would you teach? For me, there was only one answer - Awareness through Reflection.

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Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Good Day. Thanks for visiting. I hope that you have enjoyed my articles. In 1999, I founded ADVANCED SYSTEMS because I saw that performance could and should be doubled in warp time. Individuals, small and large businesses could not afford expensive solutions that may or may not deliver improved results in 12 months.

From my corporate, small business and education experiences, I recognized the individuals must have opportunities for connecting their passion to their purpose to secure the desired performance results, but many lacked the necessary skills, strategies and tools.

With over 20 years in sales management and 10 years in education, I understand how to unite productivity with profitability by developing a proactive working culture. My previous experiences resulted in cost savings through one of the first implementations of a computer software in a wholesaler distributor to the creation of a vendor performance assessment.

Since facilitating over 500 sessions, developing and editing over 25 training programs and writing numerous articles focusing on performance improvement, I bring a results focused approach to my clients. Also, I am proud to be one of the first five nationally certified facilitators of America’s Rising Stars (a Student Leadership developmental curriculum).

My passion is to help others connect their passion to their purpose to double performance. As The small business coach in Chicago, my clients have easily doubled their performance. Since our greatest resource is our young people, I am now working with large urban schools to generate the same results.

Education Background

• Graduated with honors from Purdue University with a B.A. in Education
• Earned M.S. from Purdue University in Instructional Design and Curriculum
• Published in the national trade journal, The Supply House Times, and numerous national newsletters
• Developed seminars and training on diversity, communication, leadership, sales, effective trade show behavior, networking, knowledge management, goal setting and improved educational outcomes
• Co-authored M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capicities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement, to be available in 2006
• Working a another book focusing on performance in public education
• Speaker in a national bureau - Resource Associates Corporation