Vol. 5, No. 9 - December 2006

Greetings, SeaZine subscribers!

Tis the season to be jolly and fa-la-la your way through the beauty (and perhaps a beast or two) of these remaining days of 2006 and the first days of the new year.

With a focus on 'doings' - deadlines, budgets, gift-buying, gatherings, logistics, travels, visitors, and such things -- there is the potential to forget the 'being', or spirit, of the season.

This is a season that celebrates joy and the 'return of light' in our days, our lives, our organizations, and within our own hearts and minds.

This is a great metaphor to apply in the vital areas of your life and livelihood -- shining light on the wonders, blessings, gifts, opportunities, and potentials for joy that exist but may be too often suppressed, hidden from view, or not fully recognized.

Ivy Sea offers a multitude of resources to help you 'shine the light' and blaze your brightest and most uniquely brilliant 'YOU' -- as an individual, a leader, or an organization -- so all the world and those nearest to you are warmed by it.

Taking just a few minutes to scan through this issue might gain you a much-needed dose of insight, inspiration, or ideas. There is more to gain than lose!

May your holiday season be blessed with warmth and graciousness.

Sincerely,

Jamie Walters
Founder, Ivy Sea, Inc. &
Author, Big Vision, Small Business

In this edition of the Ivy SeaZine:

As always, we at Ivy Sea want to be a resource and inspiration for you on your journey. Here are the resources you'll find in this issue of Ivy SeaZine:

** Cultivating character and excellence

** The paths of more meaningful work

** Maximizing joy and minimizing conflict during the holidays

** Envisioning the year ahead

** Visionary business conference and tele-seminars

** Launch an inspired and dynamic new year with a session or consultation

** Ivy Sea VIP content features

** At Ivy Sea Online - Integrity centered marketing, purpose and mission, inspired leadership, skillful communication, cultural creatives in business, Sacred Feminine, and more.

** About Ivy Sea, Inc., the SeaZine, subscribing and unsubscribing

[Ivy SeaZine is a "voluntary, by request" subscriber-only publication. Want to subscribe and receive the Ivy SeaZine in your own email box each month?]

Cultivating Character and Excellence

Arthur Trudeau said, "Character is the total of thousands of small daily strivings to live up to the best that is in us. Character is the final decision to reject whatever is demeaning to oneself or to others and with confidence and honesty to choose the right."

Cultivating 'virtue' can seem like a very old-fashioned concept, but there are many very good reasons to take a fresh look.

Let's define 'the virtues' as some of those skills, attributes, or ways of being that help us to cultivate and demonstrate excellence, skillfulness, and refined character.

Cultivating virtue results not only in a greater degree of excellence and skillfulness, and a higher, finer caliber of character, but it also lends a sense of meaning and purpose to one's life -- indeed, one's average day.

And in some traditions, by cultivating virtues and 'higher behaviors', we negate or minimize the more unfortunate or 'negative' effects of previous actions, thoughts, and words.

Surely, any of these, much less all of these, offer excellent reasoning for cultivating the finer aspects of our potentials, don't you think? And it can actually be enjoyable, and feel very meaningful, to do so.

Read the full article and the tips for exploring vice, virtue, and excellence in your dialogues and brainstorming sessions.

The Paths of More Meaningful Work

As with anything else, there is more than one pathway for the expression of purpose, values, and Wisdom in the world, or of expression in general whether it's wise or not.

The concept of "conscious work" or "conscious enterprise" holds within it the intention to work more wisely, with a greater consciousness of the source, the intentions, the values, the ways, and the effects of what we do, why we do it, and how we go about it.

In the case of conscious enterprise, we intend "the ends" to be uplifting, life-nurturing, creative, respecting, and all-sustaining -- rather than oppressive, life-exploiting, destructive, disrespectful, and unsustainable -- so the means employed must be envisioned and skillfully employed to bring about such ends, and align with such values.

Whereas the fading paradigm has seemed to primarily emphasize fostering consumption and "quantity in life", conscious enterprise spotlights and fosters passionate citizens creating "quality of life" through alignment with deeper values and a more whole perspective.

To give birth to these ideals, conscious enterprisers must have intentions and practices that connect us -- to Spirit, Earth, and other life. From that foundation, "enterprise" becomes something quite different -- fulfilling its potential to be quite extraordinary. As with any vision, we must also articulate some pathway to explore and experiment our way to it.

Read the full article on the 13 paths to more meaningful work

Maximizing Joy and Minimizing Conflict at the Holidays

The foundation of "conscious enterprise" is knowing why you're doing what you're doing in your life, livelihood and/or business, and also have a very clear idea of how you want to do it.

This goes deeper than simply having a plan and working it, or identifying a goal and working to achieve it. That's pretty typical.

What distinguishes a conscious enterprise (or a conscious enterpriser) is a clear, vibrant vision that connects deeply with one's truest priorities and values, and a way of going about one's business or everywhere routine in a way that reflects those priorities and values in action.

While no one is perfect, a conscious enterpriser makes it his or her daily practice to "walk the talk" and strives to be more and more skillful. This has at least two important benefits: more meaning, and clear distinctions between your business and 'business as usual'.

A conscious enterpriser's level of commitment and skillfulness is noticed by others, and has a positive, constructive effect rather than a destructive one. Which do you think people might want more of?

Being a conscious enterpriser has other benefits as well. With a clear vision that's heart-centered and aligned with deeper, truer priorities and values, a conscious enterpriser is more likely to feel energized by a sense of purpose and meaning -- even when circumstances get challenging -- and experiences a sense of deeper satisfaction at creating and attracting achievements or circumstances that are aligned with his or her vision (rather than someone else's expectations).

Read the full article for maximizing joy and minimizing conflict.

Envisioning the Year Ahead

Although passing into a new calendar year doesn't necessarily make today radically different from yesterday, the ritual of marking a new year (or day, week, or month) can provide a valuable context for us.

Such rituals also help us to be more mindful of the passing time, so that one bland day of consuming doesn't just pass into another, and then another, without distinction or growth.

As we're more mindful of the passing days, weeks, months and seasons, we have an opportunity to count our blessings, take measure of our progress, and envision what we would like to create -- and how we would like to be of service -- in the coming months and year.

In the coming month, intend to set aside some time each week to reflect on the activities, progress, blessings, and challenges of the past year. With that noted, open up to your intuition and Wisdom for guidance and inspiration on what's possible for you in the coming year, and how you can plant seeds each day, week, and month to make it so.

Ivy Sea has many articles, tips, VIP and PDF resources -- and personal consultations -- to help you in your visioning processes and in bringing your vision to life in a way that energizes and benefits you and others.

Explore the possibilities

Ivy Sea founder, Jamie Walters, and visionary kindred spirits will be speaking at the Visionary Business conference in Los Angeles, CA, in February 2007.

Between now and then, speakers will be doing complimentary tele-seminars with conference organizer Susan Levin of Speaker Services.

Why not join us and be inspired?

Find out more about the Visionary Business Conference & Tele-Seminars

Launch an Inspired New Year With an Ivy Sea Session or Consultation

Ivy Sea offers a wealth of resources for asking great questions, deepening skillfulness, clarifying your purpose and vision, and aligning it with skillful action in authentic marketing, organizational change, leadership, conscious entrepreneurship, and right-livelihood.

In other words, we help you skillfully and authentically connect the 'who you are' and 'what's important to you' with 'what you do' and 'how you do it'.

Or you may be looking for 'real world' guidance and inspiration on getting from 'here' to 'there'.

Visit Ivy Sea Online or give us a call to schedule a session, arrange for a consultation, or get more information on how to expand your potential (and your results!).

To schedule a session or get more information on these or other Ivy Sea resources, check out our consultation options in the 'Sessions & Dialogues' section, inquire by email, or give us a call at 415.778.3910. We'd be delighted to talk with you.

VIP resources for Ivy Sea VIP members

Ivy Sea Online VIP Members receive access to the VIP-only library of articles, tip sheets, dialogue-starters, SeaZine and Brain Food archives, and PDF workbooks or skill-guides.

In addition to the wealth of existing VIP resources, Ivy Sea VIPs now receive two additional premium Ivy Sea PDF workbooks -- The Big-Vision Sales & Marketing PDF workbook, and the Big-Vision SOHO/SoloPreneur's Quantum Leap Guide.

And VIP Gold, Platinum and Diamond members have licence to reprint Ivy Sea Online content from both public and VIP-only collections (always respecting noting copyright on all distributed materials, of course).

On the radar for VIPs and Ivy Sea Online Store customers:

Audio mini-workshops on a range of topics crucial for inspired, skillful leading, communicating, and entrepreneuring. Perfect for the MP3, iPod, or lunchtime learning!

VIP members - log in to the VIP-only section

Not a VIP yet? Learn more about the Ivy Sea VIP Membership.

Until next month...

Thank you for reading with us. Wishing you a joyful, graceful, and blessing-rich holiday season!

Sincerely,
Jamie S. Walters
Founder, Ivy Sea, Inc.
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Ivy Sea Online &
Author, Big Vision, Small Business

We appreciate your respect for the copyright of this Ivy SeaZine issue and the other materials here at Ivy Sea Online. We're happy to consider reprint requests, and our VIP Gold, Platinum and Diamond members gain license to reprint from our content. Please do feel free to forward the Ivy SeaZine issues that you receive in your emailbox along to others who might gain ideas, inspiration, or upliftment from them.

Are you ready to seek, leap, and soar? Ivy Sea Founder Jamie Walters and Ivy Sea collaborators provide inspiration, resources, and consultation for the visionary entrepreneurs and inspired leaders who are exploring, redefining, modeling, and facilitating joyful, vibrant, prosperous right livelihood -- good work!

Inquire deeply, clarify your vision, and rise into new levels of momentum, purpose, and skillfulness with an Ivy Sea vision-quickening program, a lightning-catalyst session, or a more indepth consultation. Leap...