by Alexia Parks | Jan 2, 2019 | 10 Traits, 10TRAITS, Article, Gender, Health, Inclusion, Inclusive, Leadership, Leadership Opportunity, Training, UN Women, Uncategorized
Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the Greek philosopher Aristotle believed. He went so far as to call happiness “the whole aim and end of human existence.” But what if you are so unhappy that you don’t have time to focus on being happy? One fix for this problem is called: TRUTH. Truth cuts a path through a forest of distractions. It is the sum total of our words and actions that define us. It’s the bundle of habits that define our character. Truth, when expressed as kindness, compassion and respect for others, never wanders. It guides our actions, like a lighthouse in a darkened sea. Situational rhetoric is different. When your happiness depends on situational rhetoric, it means that your words must match the different types of people you talk to, or groups you join. With situational rhetoric you must learn to talk differently and act differently each time you talk, depending on the person or group you are with. This takes practice. Remembering what you said, when, and to whom, wastes your time and wears down your happiness. Telling the truth takes practice. When it becomes a habit, it will save more than your time, it could save your life. Mark Twain got it right when he said: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember...
by Alexia Parks | Nov 20, 2018 | 10TRAITS, Article, Gender, Inclusion, Leadership, Leadership Opportunity, UN Women
Day 43: Finding the will to change takes more than “willpower.”The fight for the top leadership role in Congress between two women politicians: Representative Nancy Pelosi and Representative-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes deeper than media headlines. The media loves a good fight. This fight is different. This fight between two strong women leaders is about accelerating the SPEED of change, changing the entire culture of Congress, and getting it right, so that our elected leaders can break through the current gridlock in Congress and make government REAL again for people. To change how government WORKS, we need to change how government LOOKS. Along with the 100 new women leaders entering Congress in 2019 imagine if the Democrats were to chose a new co-leadership team that would reflect both the diversity of America and our shared common values. That co-leadership team? Pelosi AND Ocasio-Cortez. Co-Leadership of the House of Representatives by two strong women would pair the power and experience of an incumbent with vision and purpose of a high-energy newcomer. For example, Nancy Pelosi’s 31 years in Congress, representing San Francisco, California’s 12th District, might represent “the stable center” where change happens incrementally, over time, through diplomacy and concessions on both sides of the aisle. Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from New York’s 14 Congressional District is an educator and a fighter. Her cause is to make government REAL for people. She wants to remove the mystique of “being an incumbent,” cut through the “red tape of government,” and help people see themselves stepping into leadership roles. It would require setting up a structural framework that recognizes the complexity and volatility of modern...
by Alexia Parks | Nov 11, 2018 | 10TRAITS, Article, Gender, Health, Inclusive, Leadership, Training, UN Women
Day 49: Today’s goal is to establish new healthy habits. It’s time for YOU to become the center of your attention. Ready to start? Then stop for a moment and turn your attention inward. Shine a light on that part of yourself that may have been ignored or take for granted, perhaps for years, by you: Your INNER you. Take a moment to put aside all distractions and focus on yourself. This personal focus “turns on” your inner light. It offers you a moment to discover where your personal power and potential really comes from. It comes from the daily actions you are willing to take to maintain or strengthen your health. If you’ve ever traveled by air, you know that every air traveler is reminded to: “Put your own face mask first before helping others.” This basic safety rule can also be applied to today’s challenge: Stay healthy! As a starting point, discover the power of sending tiny messages of encouragement to yourself. It’s like an “inner email” from you to yourself. Your spoken or whispered messages of thanks, gratitude and love can be as simple as: “Hello my heart. I love you.” “Good morning my miracle brain.” “Good GUT, how are you feeling today?” What you are displaying here is your natural leadership qualities of nurturing and compassion If you’re interested, here is how I have turned a focus on health and healthy habits into a 1-minute list of daily affirmations. They are now part of a mini-exercise routine – inspired by my partner Dr. Joel – that begins with: I’m constantly growing every day, I’m constantly learning every...
by Alexia Parks | Nov 10, 2018 | 10 Traits, Article, Gender, Health, Inclusion, Leadership, Leadership Opportunity, Training, UN Women, Uncategorized
DAY 50: Today’s challenge is to stay mindful, stay sane, and stay healthy. What steps will you take to achieve this goal? Start by setting a goal to think GOOD thoughts. Did you know that up to 70% of the thoughts that most people think are negative. And, of all the thoughts we think each day, research suggests that up to 95% are the same thoughts we thought yesterday. How is this possible? It may be built-in to your job description. For example, when I recently mentioned this 95% figure to a bright young sales clerk at an office equipment store he looked at me in disbelief. Then I explained that the sales pitch he had just given me was probably the same one that he had delivered to a 100 people before me. Knowing this was true, he smiled at me and nodded his head in agreement. To boost the number of good thoughts you think each day, try this simple exercise: say to yourself “Be Mindful” each time you take an action. The more mindful you are, the more present you become. While staying fully present in every moment may not be possible, it’s a worthy goal. It means that you are taking full responsibility for what happens in your life. Learning how to lead from the INSIDE out is a leadership practice. You recognize that every thought, words or action is the result of a choice you have made. Chose well. Others may be watching, and following your lead. Alexia Parks is president of 10TRAITS Leadership Institute: Offering 1-Minute conflict resolution tools, research, and trait-based training...
by Alexia Parks | Aug 17, 2018 | Article, Gender, Inclusion, Leadership, Leadership Opportunity, Sustainability, Training, UN Women
G.E.T. Smarter Faster is based on the synergy of 10 powerful feminine traits that are the complementary opposite of 10 equally powerful masculine traits. When these traits are placed in a dynamic synergy, they unlock untapped potential that has been suppressed and polarized in both men and women. Alexia Parks GET Smarter Faster talk and workshop includes an experiential session with the 1-Minute Evaluation Tool. Everyone in the room experiences it at the same time. Everyone gains benefits. Use it to strengthen relationships, reduce conflict, shed hidden bias and improve decision-making. Good relationships, of course, give us more freedom to focus on our goals and opportunities because we are spending less time and energy overcoming the problems associated with negative relationships. 10TRAITS structural framework for decision-makers leverages-natural trait-based differences in order to strengthen relationships and reduce conflict, sustainably. Facilitators are trained at the 10TRAITS Leadership Institute to help use this framework to create trait-balanced organizations TAKE ACTION: Bring this event to your K-14, college, organization or corporation in 2019. BIO: Alexia Parks is founder of 10TRAITS Leadership Institute, inventor of the Gender Equality Tool,-and a UN Mentor. Alexia was called “One of 50 people who matter most on the NET,” by Newsweek magazine for her launch of Votelink, one of the first electronic democracy systems on the Internet “ She formerly wrote for the national desk of The Washington Post. Alexia’s science-based work lies at the interface of technology, biochemistry, and human...