The Important Things In Life......

This weekend my mother (who lives in Madison, WI) was visiting me in Colorado.

She and I are from different generations of course (she is my mother after all)! We are not separated by only one generation ---- I am the youngest of nine (yes….nine) and was born when my mother was 45. We are two generations apart, with my older siblings representing the generation in between.


It’s no wonder I’ve had a life-long appreciation for generational differences.


During our most recent conversation the topic turned to thank you notes. Seems my mother is a little annoyed at one of the grandkids (there are 23 of them) for not having sent a thank you note for a gift she sent months ago. In my mother’s words “There are probably five really important things to learn in this world…..and the importance of sending thank you notes is one of them”. (In all honesty I think she is more annoyed that her children have not passed on the importance of thank you notes to their children after she spent so much time focused on this with each of us).


In any case…this got me thinking ---- if I had to list the five most important things in life to be passed on to my children (or, since I don’t have kids….to my nieces and nephews)…what would they be?


Here’s what I came up with….


• Do what you love and love what you do --- it makes the days much more enjoyable
makes you a lot easier to be around during and after work!
• Be involved – in your community, neighborhood, school, etc.
• Experience new things – see the world, experience and appreciate new cultures
and different ways of doing things – broaden your horizons.
• Be a great friend ----- and it will be reciprocated.
• And…for the sake of my mother….send thank you notes.


I’d love to hear what you might include on your list – please add your thoughts via the comment section or contact me through www.insightfulendeavors.com


Wishing you the very best with all your endeavors,


Nora A Burns, SPHR





Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States. Fall/Winter workshops are being offered in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin – registration is available here.

Henry the Eighth --- English Monarch or hit by Herman's Hermits?

Henry the Eighth --- English Monarch or 1965 muscial hit by Herman's Hermits?

Our generational ‘culture’ influences our interpretation of words, phrases, etc.

Each generation has been shaped by the events which occurred during their lives….particularly those which occurred during formative years….

Do you remember…..

• When construction began on the Berlin Wall in 1961?
• Sitting by the radio listening to news of John F Kennedy's assassination?
• Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster in 1986?
• The dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989?
• Your parents being laid-off from jobs they had expected to retire from?
• Watching television coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995?

Experiencing events like these shape how we look at the world. Imagine witnessing these events at the age of 10 vs the age of 30 and the impact that experience would have on you as a result.

Last fall I was in Beijing with a friend (who has a different generational reference than I). As we walked through Tiananmen Square I was thinking to myself “this is where it happened 18 years ago...this is where ‘The Unknown Rebel’ had stood up to the tanks”….... I looked over at my friend and realized she had a very different perspective of this place.

This did not represent a massacre site to her --- she had not heard news coverage and seen photographs of the events of June, 1989 flash across the television screen.

We were looking at the same thing at the same time and having completely different experiences. Neither “right” nor “wrong”….just different.

Sometimes when I say “tomato” and you say “tomahto” we are, indeed, referencing different things.

An understanding and appreciation of our differences.....developing the ability to communicate effectively to benefit from these different perspectives is key to developing innovative and sustainable working relationships......which leads to enhanced bottom line results.

All my best,

Nora A Burns, SPHR

Nora A. Burns, SPHR is Founder and President of Insightful Endeavors International, (IEI), Inc. A native of Wisconsin with 20 years experience in Learning & Organizational Development, Nora currently resides in Denver, CO with her insanely cute Labradoodle Bella and Bella's sidekick Baxter.

IEI specializes in building innovative, sustainable teams to drive bottom-line results. In addition to working with corporations and associations, IEI offers public workshops across the United States.

Registration for Nora’s upcoming workshop “V+BB+X+Y=??? : Managing Multiple Generations” is available here.