Practitioner Comments
About Personal Leadership
“I never have to feel at a dead end again; I know there is always a way out.”
“Personal Leadership has made me a very practical and creative solution-building person when I deal with people whose ways are unfamiliar and down right strange to me.”
“I’m able to stay in the moment, I’m able to ask practical questions that shed light on the underlying assumptions—both mine and theirs—that are at play. I’m also more able to stay open to possibilities that do not present themselves while viewing a situation from only one angle. I am much more comfortable with not knowing, and trust that new knowledge of what is possible in every situation will come through my work with a person from a different culture.”
“Using Personal Leadership, I know that I can rapidly and clearly discern right action.”
“I am becoming a better practitioner of listening and dialogue instead of exchanging opinions which was the way I did conversations before. I have had some exciting moments when a new and deep understanding of a situation has happened through a genuine dialogue, and it was very satisfying to me and the person I was working with. Both of our horizons of possibility were expanded.”
“I am excited about the perspective and skills it has endowed me with.”
“I also wanted to thank you for the role play which, in a few minutes, helped better delineate why I am in the business I am in. I had wondered many times, b/c I had so much interest in psychology, social issues, why did I ‘let them put me in this dry foreign language thing’? Now, I know. It is because I have always wanted to be a citizen of the world, a link between people; help communication, help people be ‘open to the world’ as I wanted to be when I was 16 in high school. Thanks for helping me realize that. I feel so much better with this feeling in my heart at all times now. It is wonderful.”
“Practicing Personal Leadership has given me clarity, focus, and direction. As I continue to practice this way of living, I can look forward to constant creativity and a new way of approaching habitual routines. I look forward to each day, as new ways of being and doing continue to unfold for me.”
“So I guess I’m saying that the work one does with people whose ways are different and unfamiliar to us is an exiting crossroads of new knowledge created in a raw and creative way and both people will walk away with a richer and deeper understanding of themselves and have a brand new solution or project that neither of them thought possible while working on it alone.”
About Personal Leadership Seminars
Participants in Personal Leadership seminars to date have brought a rich variation in experience. Their nationalities have included British, Canadian, French, German, Icelandic, Japanese, Pakistani, Swiss, and U.S. American of diverse ethnicities. Their areas of professional focus have ranged from multinational and globalizing corporations to social service provision and administration, from higher education to home maintenance, from international and humanitarian development to personal and professional development. Some were in the midst of graduate studies, others were in personal and/or professional transition. The common denominator among all was their readiness to take Personal Leadership of their own life experiences.
About the seminar
“All my life I have been the ‘frustrated artist’, always creative but a creativity without soul. Something was always missing. Friday evening I realized what was missing. I knew I did not need tools or machinery, enamels or paints. My head and my heart are my tools and my vision is my greatest creation.”
“I especially appreciated your helping me reach a life-altering decision. I was able to reach the decision by 1) forming my focus question, 2) going through the Critical Moment Dialogue and 3) reflecting alone and with others. When I committed to the decision, I suddenly had an open road ahead of me. I plan on consciously using the Critical Moment Dialogue until it becomes a natural part of me.”
“I have visited the transcultural teaching of Angeles Arrien and the Emotional Intelligence concepts of Goleman (particularly as they are implemented by Ron Short), only to discover that you three have been cooking this stew up for me... The holism, the simple elegance and the practicality of ‘PL’ is deeply inspiring.”
“Every expectation, hope, and wild fantasy was met or exceeded...body, emotions, intellect and spirit were present and accounted for in proportions just right for me. There were BIG SHIFTS without BIG STORIES and DRAMA.”
“Loved the activities, readings, location, accommodations and food. These things enriched and helped to deepen my experience, really facilitating going inside. I enjoyed and looked forward to beginning each day with meditation—the meditation is powerful. It helped, and continues to help me to ground myself. I have been ready for some time to receive these teachings, believing that I had no idea what personal leadership was. What I realized during the seminar is that I’ve been practicing, am practicing personal leadership, and that I’m moving toward practicing it more.”
“The contents of the seminar were very rich and well balanced. I engaged in all kinds of exercise and discussions. Field trip and taking hot spring was wonderful!!! Every moment of our lives is connected, and it is like pieces of puzzle. I like the holistic approach.”
“Thank you for being witness to my remembering. At the core I know that I know... I continue to recognize ‘old stories’ which are no longer useful or true. Thank you for providing the space for all this to happen.”
“[I’m] much more cognizant of my perceptions/language use re: the victim-creator spectrum. I am re-tooling my word choices and responses. I feel I am doing more to maintain and sustain my learning and insights from this experience than I’ve done in the past.”
“I woke up over the weekend and realized that I have been asleep for a long time, but now I realize that I have a choice of being alive or going to sleep. I don’t want to sleep anymore... I have things to do!!!”
“Wisdom resides within me; all I have to do is access it.”
“I need to do the work of remembering—remembering what I know to be good for me, listening to my inner voice, finding a quiet place, time and space for myself and practicing now, always now. Beginning now, and now, and now.”
About the participants
“It was wonderful to be among people of like heart and mind, and have people around me who modeled right speech. I’m seeking to embody right speech (creator speech) and right thinking (creator thinking). Every time I am among people who embody these two things, I feel enriched.”
“The group itself stands out to me too. Given the brief time we had, the group was just the right size that I could develop a good sense and connection with all. Grateful for who was there and how many.”
About the Crestone, Colorado location
“The location was perfect for the seminar.... Our place to stay was very comfortable.”
“I’m a ‘foodie;’ it would have been a growth opportunity for me to have had so-so meals. Happy I didn’t have to encounter that. Michelle’s meals were a delightful part—and certainly added to the experience—great food nurturing great thought.”
“Food was great! Michelle was a great chef! Merci! Her spirit is still in my stomach.”
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Copyright 2006. Sheila J. Ramsey, Barbara F. Schaetti and Gordon C. Watanabe DBA Personal Leadership Seminars
“Personal Leadership: Making a World of Difference” and the “Critical Moment Dialogue,,” are service marks (sm) owned by Sheila J. Ramsey, Barbara F. Schaetti, and Gordon C. Watanabe, DBA Personal Leadership Seminars. Where abbreviations for these phrases are used (for example, “Personal Leadership,” “Personal Leadership Seminars,” “PL Seminars,” “PL”, and “CMD”), it is understood that they are used in the context of these service marks. All right reserved, 2006.
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