Specialty Tea Institute, New York, NY (2025)

11/14/2022

Monday Motivation

I Am Whom I Choose to Become

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become," wrote Carl Jung. Each choice is a step in your becoming. Each choice is the product of prior choices in whom you chose to be. Whether it be the selection of your life’s purpose and meaning, a mindset through which you see the world or the people who surround and influence you, all of these choices have contributed to your defining the magnificent you.

Throughout your journey, may you think continually of the extraordinary person you choose to become. Realize that every choice has consequences. May you remember that you are not what happened to you, you are what you chose to become. Bob Proctor counsels, “See yourself where you want to be and then be there. Don’t be in the past. Be there. Act like the person you want to become.”

Choose wisely; choose well. Be more than you ever dreamed you could be… and more… so much more. Your best is yet to come.

11/07/2022

Monday Motivation

At times, great leaders pause to reflect on their leadership. They see an intermingling of their leadership and management. While not the same, they are complementary and linked, purposefully serving each other in their vision and its actualization. Reflection on the thoughts of various leaders on the harmony between leadership and management offers the possibility of great success in your life’s journey.

“Management is about persuading people to do things that they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.” Steve Jobs
“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is against the right wall.” Stephen Covey
“Management is about doing things right. Leadership is about doing the right things.” Peter Drucker
“Management is a position which is granted; leadership is a status that is earned.” K. Scott Derrik
“You manage things. You lead people.” Grace Murray Hopper
“Management deals mostly with the status quo, and leadership deals mostly with change.” John Kotter
“Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” Tom Peters
“Managers say ‘Go’. A leader says ‘Let Go.’” John Maxwell

May your leadership be visionary in your continuing pursuit to move yourself and the world from the ‘as is’ to the ‘what can be.’ May your management be the extraordinary tool that designs, builds and brings order to its successful ex*****on. May one serve the other in elevating your impact to the stars and beyond.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

10/31/2022

On the Magic of Boldness

Maya Angelou tells great leaders: “Timidity makes a person modest. It makes him or her say, ‘I’m not worthy of being written up in the record of deeds in heaven or on earth.’ They are afraid to say, ‘Yes, I deserve it.’” Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.” The learning from these words is simple: timidity holds the great leader back… while others who are bold step forward.

Goethe wrote: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” John Dryden said: “Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.” Boldness is the courageous opposite of fearfulness. To be bold implies a willingness to get things done despite risks. It is an action that moves great leaders forward rather than sitting and waiting fearfully of the next step ahead.

May we all hear and embrace the wise counsel of Horace: “Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.” May we repeat daily the words of William Shakespeare: “Boldness be my friend.” Let that friendship be the magical beginning and inspiration of realizing dreams undreamed.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

10/03/2022

Monday Motivation

On the Fulfillment of Fulfillment

“The art of fulfillment is the ability to experience not only the thrill of the chase, but also the magic of the moment, the unbridled joy of feeling truly alive,” wrote Tony Robbins. It is the gratification found in living each of life’s moments to their fullest - in personal or professional achievements or in your selfless service of others.

If fulfillment is the contents of a bucket, you find that it has no limits, as it continues to grow with new additions. The contents are magical keys found in your planning, goals, objectives and dreams. There are other keys that occur unexpectedly. Upon discovering them and acting on them, once again, with enthusiasm and delight, you achieve something more that adds another drop, or even a huge cup of water to your bucket.

Eleanor Roosevelt reminds us, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” We all need to fill that bucket. May you remember Vince Lombardi’s wise counsel, “I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.” May your finest hours be numerous in their abundance. May you, also, find your greatest fulfillment in your selfless giving and contributions to the lives and welfare of those whom you touch and serve.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

09/19/2022

Monday Motivation

On the Gifts of Opportunities

Opportunities are the magical door openers of exploration. They are portals to new learnings of self-discovery. They are openings to unexplored paths on which self-imposed limits and boundaries are escaped. In all that they offer, they are often missed because of how they present themselves. Thomas Edison wrote, “Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Yet, this can be changed.

A curiosity mindset transforms the picture and creates an openness and receptivity to the opportunity. It asks the question, “What does this situation offer to my growth and learning?” Suddenly, the opportunity, brilliantly clothed as a problem, opens your eyes to new possibilities, opportunities and challenges which push your limits and creates the awareness to see the world differently. It also offers you the joy and excitement of new adventures, learning and growth.

May you always answer the door when opportunity knocks. Be passionate, bold and daring. As Steve Maraboli said, “Your momentum creates the door on which opportunity knocks.” Remember George Bernard Shaw’s wise counsel, “Don’t wait for the right opportunity: create it.” Change the world! Your best is yet to come.

Have a beautiful day, a happy first day of Fall on the 22nd and a magnificent week!!!

09/12/2022

Monday Motivation

On Your Mission in Life

Viktor Frankl wrote, “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.”

“The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why,” wrote Mark Twain. On that beautiful day, the spark which lights a fire inside of you is found. You discover who you are and why you are here. It is a calling that you choose. It is your life’s purpose… the unimaginable ‘why’ for which you were born which motivates you and brings meaning to your life. You begin to more fully realize your gifts and see their alignment around your purpose. Your direction is clarified; you have something for which to live. You choose your path ahead, a lifelong journey of commitment, passion and joy in achieving your purpose and mission.

An unknown author wrote, “Definition of hell: on your last day on earth you meet the person you could have become.” May your life, in all its magnificent being and doing, be the stuff of extraordinary legacy. May your gifts take you and those whom you serve to the heavens and beyond. Be and do more that you ever dreamed. May they say of you that you not only lived, but that you lived for something… your beautiful ‘why’ through which you changed the world. Your best is yet to come!

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

08/29/2022

Monday Motivation

On Enough

Enough is defined as, “as much or as many of something as required.” It is a word used when something is exhausted or finished, time for example. John Maxwell asks the question, “How do I know that I have given enough as a leader to really help people reach their potential?” The answer to his question is not a delimiting one, a time when your limit is reached or satisfied. For the answer to the question of your selfless giving to those whom you serve is to continuously give them more than enough.

Likewise with yourself. Brené Brown writes, “Believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable, and imperfect.” Know, always, in all who you are and do, enough is never enough. Good is not good enough. Great is not great enough. There is always something more. May you fill your life and the lives of those whom you serve with more than enough because… you are so beautifully more than enough. As William Blake wrote, “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.”

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

08/22/2022

Monday Motivation

On the Joy of Yes

“Everything in the world began with a yes. One molecule said yes to another molecule and life was born,” wrote Clarice Lispector. Yes opens the door to possibilities. It creates a mindset of adventure and challenge, an invitation to explore new ideas, seek new approaches in accomplishing something or step into the unknown in search of the unthinkable. Yes is the road of doing and accomplishing. Yes is about more; no is about less.

Thomas Dreier said, “No is always a door-closing word; yes is always a door-opening word.” Yes creates an abundance mindset; no creates one of scarcity. Yes is the permission you give yourself to take your next step in adding to your life’s experiences and successes. May you passionately embrace John Maxwell’s wise counsel to always “live on the other side of yes.” An unknown author wrote, “We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.” Become more than you ever dreamed you could be… and more… so much more. Your best is yet to come. Just say yes.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

08/15/2022

Motivation Monday

On the Power of Your Impact

“Who are we, if not measured by the impact we have on others,” wrote Carl Sagan. Words, attitudes, behaviors, actions all have an impact on those who receive them. Even a smile on our face or the softness of our tone of voice, they leave an impression on their recipients. The reality of this impact reminds us that it is yet another gift we offer others, a conveyance of our love and passion for life, an inspiration and motivation to others to find what we have found or a simple moment of uplift in making their day brighter. The choice of sharing these gifts of our impact rests in our hands.

“We are each called to be a beacon of light in the world,” writes Joy Andreasen. May we be that shining and brilliant beacon to those whom we touch and serve. In all our magnificent being and doing, may we remember the power of our impact. May you hold closely the words of Mother Teresa, “I cannot alone change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Cast your stones into the waters of life. Change your world and the world of those touched by the ripples you have joyfully created.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

08/12/2022

STI Class Schedule!!!

We are pleased to share that we have available our schedule of STI classes over the next several months.

All classes will be held at The Cultured Cup in Farmers Branch (near Dallas), Texas.

The schedule and registration forms are available on our website: STITea.org.

Click on this link access them both! http://stitea.org/14821/sti-class-schedule

Forward the completed forms to STI via e-mail or regular mail.

Please contact STI If you have any questions.

08/08/2022

Monday Motivation

On Seeing What Others Do Not

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others,” wrote Jonathan Swift. It is the magical ability to think with imagination and wisdom, to see what others do not see and see it before they do. Visionary thinking unlocks the gates of self-imposed limitations and the confining thinking of others. It is big-picture thinking at its finest… no boundaries, only endless speculation on possibilities that move life from the ‘as is’ to the ‘what can be.’ Rosabeth Moss Kanter writes, “ A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.”

Warren Buffet said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” May your vision of life’s possibilities and its undreamed beauty and richness be the seeds of those trees which will bring joyous, peaceful shade to the lives of many. May your vision be your call “to become something more,” something and someone so much more. Your best is yet to come.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

08/01/2022

On the Value of Appreciation

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated,” wrote Marcel Proust. On appreciation, Margaret Cousins tells us, “Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it all into words is all that is necessary.” It is in this gift that you give recognition to the great value someone brings to your life… in who they are, and in what they do.

Your appreciative words that acknowledge a significant impact that someone has brought to your life engenders in them a deep personal sense of self-value. Their gratitude for this recognition gives you the joy and feeling of your own beauty and greatness. What you give opens you to the gifts you will receive.

Proust counsels us, “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” May your words sow seeds of happiness and appreciation in those you serve that they, too, will be the charming gardeners to others in making souls blossom.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

07/25/2022

Monday Motivation

We Can't Do It Alone

In his recent blog post, Leaders Find Accountability Partners to Help Them Cement New Habits, Larry Center speaks to the importance of accountability partners in life’s journey. They are those wonderful friends, coaches, mentors and others who provide you “with tough love, wise feedback and compassionate caring” in your continuing growth and development. Center describes them as:

o Someone who believes in our aspirations
o Someone who believes in our capabilities
o Someone who trusts us and who we trust
o Someone with whom we can communicate on a regular basis
o Someone who is willing to hold us accountable and tell us the truth
o Someone who we can be truthful with regarding our feelings and our hopes
o Someone who will not think any less of us if and when we fall down and who can help us get back up

These are the beautiful people who have your back in your continued journey to be more than you ever dreamed you could be. Charles Stanley writes, “An accountability partner is able to perceive what you can’t see when blind spots and weaknesses block your vision.” May you embrace and enjoy those in your life who see and believe in your fullest potential, take learning from them and come to find it in yourself. Your best is yet to come!

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

07/18/2022

Monday Motivation

On Legacy

Pericles counsels great leaders: “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” These words beautifully capture the great leader’s true legacy and impact – the change that their life, in all its magnificent being and doing, has brought to the lives of those whom they care and serve.
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you sow,” writes Robert Louis Stevenson. His words describe the process through which their legacy is built. Each word, action, behavior and attitude, selectively and intentionally chosen, are the precious seeds they sow each day. Individually or collectively over time, their porous magic finds its way into the minds and hearts of those around them and finds a home.

Kalu Ndukwe Kalu writes: “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” May your precious, extraordinary and treasured seeds blossom forever, begetting an endless regeneration in others of living a life of passion, deep caring and a ceaseless pursuit of becoming more than they ever dreamed they could be… and more… so much more.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

07/11/2022

Monday Motivation

On Resilience

Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” It is the great leaders’ resilience to bounce back and face life’s difficulties and challenges. It is the unstoppable you who chooses boldly and daringly to move forward. Each step is a testament to your belief in yourself, a further strengthening of your commitment to live every precious moment that life offers to its fullest.

Nelson Mandela wrote, “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” And in those moments when life’s challenges dampen the beauty and joy of your spirit, may you hear the words of Emory Austin, “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” And, quietly, may you whisper to yourself, “And my heart will go on,” for today’s challenges are tomorrow’s strengths. Be more than you ever dreamed you could be… and more… so much more.

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

06/27/2022

Monday Motivation

On Togetherness

In his recent blog post, Our Power of Togetherness, Gary Burnison speaks to the power, joy and incredible need for togetherness in our life’s journey. He shares a story of his first trip internationally after three years of not meeting clients in person. He writes, “There is something about being physically together. The conversation invariably just seems to go in a different, deeper direction. Sometimes it’s completely unexpected—an outpouring that’s authentic, vulnerable, and healthy.” That personal connection, our “shared humanity” comes to life.

“Togetherness is not necessarily about a location,” Burnison says, “it’s all about intention. No matter where we are, no matter how we work, we need to rediscover the connection points that resonate.” This intentionality is demonstrated as an openness to others’ ideas and perspectives, a vulnerability to see the world differently by standing in someone’s shoes, a desire to discover a personal connection.

He counsels leaders, “As leaders, we’re the fulcrum of that balance: on one hand understanding people’s concerns and answering their questions, and on the other hand helping them to relate better to each other. The direction may change but the winds will always blow. And while we can’t control the storms—neither in life nor in leadership—togetherness is what adjusts our sails.”

In all that you do, say and act, may you bring greater depth, meaning and sail-adjusting to our “shared humanity”. May you remember the words of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, “The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.”

Have a beautiful day and a magnificent week!!!

06/20/2022

Monday Motivation

On Balance

“There is no such thing as work-life balance – it is all life. The balance has to be within you,” wrote Sadhguru. It is your awareness of your continuing and passionate pursuit of your purpose and meaning, your dreams and aspirations, your goals and priorities through which you choose to achieve your balance. The balance you seek may not be daily, weekly or even monthly as each day provides neither an equal balance of the good and bad nor ups and downs. Your awareness provides you the magical lever of inner control by which you live your days. It allows you to be resilient, adaptable and flexible to life’s offerings and to bring balance. As Jana Kingsford wrote, “Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create.”

Stephen Covey said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” His words put your choices for balance in your hands. Choose wisely; choose well. On your magnificent life’s journey ahead, may you sometimes pause and remember Dolly Parton’s counsel, “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” Life is so very good… and it’s all up to you.

Have a beautiful day, we hope all had a Happy Father’s Day and a magnificent week!!!

Specialty Tea Institute