Where do I get value?  I think if you are open to it, value can come to you from many places.  Just like in my previous post – don’t force it, what goes hand in hand with that is being open.  Being open to interactions, being open to notice the lessons and connecting the dots between what is around you.

In my previous post, I promised I would explain what feedback I received from some of my ‘people of influence’. Before I get to that, I should go over how these people came to be on my ‘people of influence list’.  It all ties in to value.

I did spend a good amount of time on twitter, as I found this to be useful to see what was current, happening now, and who were influential people or businesses.  Just a brief list of the accounts I follow: Entreprenuer, Elon Musk, Emma Watson, Scholastic, Matthew Toren, Lean in Canada, Forbes, Melinda Gates, Martin Zwilling, Kelly Lovell, Inc, Economist, Barack Obama, Guy Kawasaki, Ingrid Vanderveldt, Sophie Kinsella, Mark Cuban, Arlene Dickinson, Dutch Jones, Paul Jarvis, Anne Taintor.  A common theme is these people are all people I can learn from – have I mentioned I love learning?

I do have a book list that I have built up over the years too.  These are my FAVOURITE books. They have added tons of value to my life and I treasure them for it.  One list leans more towards ‘professional development’ and one more towards ‘personal development’, and some cross over to both lists.

Professional development:

-How To Win Friends and Influence People  (should be read by all, general -how-to-be-a-good-human info)

-The Secret (law of attraction)

-Ted Talks (yes I own a book on public speaking, but here is where the value is: how to tell stories in a short(ish) amount of time. Priceless)

-The Artists Way (good exercises to using your brain in different artistic ways)

Personal development:

-How To Win Friends and Influence People (as above)

-The 5 Love Languages (excellent communication lessons everyone should know!)

-The Secret (as above)

-The Power of Now (being mindful, being present, gratitude for life)

-The Artists Way (as above)

-Reality Is Not What It Seems (ok, this is a result of reading The Secret, and has rooted in me my new-found fascination for physics. SO fascinating, I love it)

Value enriches our experience while we are here (you know, on earth).  I always look for value and learning everywhere.  I can always improve.  Being able to take lessons from anywhere and applying it to my (or your) own experience to grow is something I can never do enough of.  And to quote my grandpa the King (his last name was King, so I refer to him as my grandpa the king, in my head):

“This shall improve my outlook on life”.

*he did always say this when he was looking at a table full of food at family gatherings, but there, you see? I am taking this outlook and applying it to my own experience – value added.

~ hugs,

Devon