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For 22 years, C.W. Metcalf has consulted with hundreds of global clients, including IBM, Sony, Saturn Motors, The Mayo Affiliate Hospitals, and the Army Special Forces Training Center. His message is based on research with crisis and trauma survivors who remain healthy, resilient and creative under pressure. But, it was Mr. Metcalf’s own life and death battles that inspired him the most.
In both 1996 and 2002, C.W. proved that he practices what he preaches, as he overcame a less than 2% chance of recovery from brain surgeries. Those experiences revitalized his commitment to showing others how to develop the abilities that helped save and restore meaning to his life. His recent, year-long hospitalization with Adult Leukemia and his ongoing engagement with the disease have only sharpened his commitment. C.W. Metcalf has taught at three major universities, and pursued careers in writing, performing, advertising and hospice volunteer work.
He co-authored the best selling book Lighten Up: survival skills for people under pressure, which was recently translated into Russian, and his multiple video training series are available in eleven languages.
Presentation Topics:
“When the Going Gets Tough…”Life Skills for the 21st Century
This presentation explores the skills critical to a success that nourishes health and optimism, rather than corroding them. This is an interactive, entertaining and educational event that includes a new understanding of:
1) Altruism—a satisfying sense of service to others. Often thought of as self-sacrifice, altruism is more a sense of satisfaction in service to others. It can even be thought of as a selfish act, in that altruistic people tend to view the world more optimistically, and fare better in times of personal difficulty.
2) Imagination—the ability to envision and move toward the exceptional. Creativity and Imagination are often treated as interchangeable concepts--they are not. Creativity is a physical act; imagination takes place purely in the mind. Developing and using the imagination is the first step toward action.
3) Community—any group united by common challenges and solutions. Derived from the same root form as "communicate" and "communion", community essentially means to be at one with. Community is a powerful force in amplifying health and hardiness.
4) Humor—the ability to take yourself lightly and your work seriously. Far more than comedic ability , humor offers the insight to maintain grace under pressure, and stimulate the imaginative, problem solving mind.
5) Divine Luck—the ability to take advantage of the unexpected. It is more than "dumb" luck that allows some of us to thrive when others wither. Some form of Divinity in human life is common to those who solve rather than surrender to problems.
All of these skills are presented as life-management techniques shared in common among those who thrive and survive in periods of trauma, difficulty and change.
Provided with psychological, physical and social skills, participants learn that When The going Gets Tough, they can access inherent, natural, stress-management tools, which enhance productivity, team building and job satisfaction.
“Humor, Risk & Change”
(A) Humor is, literally, no joke! Jokes are about comedy, and less than two percent of the population can remember and tell jokes. In our work, humor is a very particular perspective. As a skill, humor is held in common by those who remain creative and healthy under pressure.
(B) The Latin root of the word humor is Umor. It means, fluid, like water. It is that fluidity of mind and spirit that we focus on.
(C) Developing humor skills is not stupid--it's silly, which is derived from the Old English, Saelig, meaning to be completely happy and blessed.
(D) Our Fear of Embarrassment, Foolishness and Failure inhibits humor skill development with thoughts like, "I'm so embarrassed, I could die!" But, embracing and acknowledging the absurdity of our lives is how we can remain creative and in control.
(E) If we don't develop Umor, we are in danger of succumbing to (drum roll) Terminal Professionalism. (TP). Argh-h-h-h! Think about it. What are you saying when you say, "I'm dead serious?"
(F) Primary humor skills and the antidote to TP are: a Humor Perspective--Take work, challenge or problem seriously, while making sure to take yourself lightly; The ability to access absurdity in adversity; A disciplined sense of joy in being alive.
"If you don't have a sense of humor, you don't have any sense at all."
C.W.’s Grandmother Macdonald |
