The Heart of the Matter
July 30, 2011
Dance in the Dance Just Released!

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I am thrilled to announce that Stuart Hoffman's newest CD, Dance in the Dance, has just been released. It is superb, fabuloso, luscious, deep, and inspiring.

If you like music that opens the heart, this is for you.

Joining Stuart is an all-star crew of awesome musicians and all around great people: Daya, Fuzzbee, Jerry Marotta, Jennifer Edwards, Albert Wing, Pedro Eustache, Lisa Frazier, and Ricardo Hambra.

Click here for a free digital download of "I'm Sure."
Click here to purchase a digital download.
Click here to buy the actual, round silvery CD.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:31 PM | Comments (1)

July 26, 2011
The Big To Do

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www.wopg.org

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July 24, 2011
Don't Worry, Be Happy!

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:55 PM | Comments (1)

July 22, 2011
I Am Moving to a Blog Cabin

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I see the future.

Everyone will have a blog. Every blogger's pet will have a blog. Every blog will have a blog. Every blog's blog will have a blog. No one will be reading any of these blogs because everyone will be too busy writing blogs. (Those with ADD will be tweeting).

Bloggers will occasionally visit other blogs, but only for the purpose of leaving comments that will direct readers back to their own blog.

Letter writing will become popular once again, gaining a new lease on life after the internet crashes repeatedly because of the profusion of blogs, tweets, and youtube videos created by 5-year olds, holographic spammers, robots, and terrorist groups.

Why all the blogging?

Because people want to connect. And WHY do people want to connect? Because there is a fundamental need inside each and every one of us to feel connected.

"Connected to WHAT?" is the question.

Most business leaders are likely to say something like "the marketplace," or "our customers" or "company values," but the real answer is far more fundamental -- your self.

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Remember that? The part of you that doesn't have a title, a strategic plan, or a smart phone to keep it all together? That's where innovation begins -- from the inside out. And even more importantly, that's where the real experience of life begins.

Bottom line, for each of us to feel truly connected, we first need to connect with ourselves. Then, and only then, does it make sense to connect with others.

Otherwise, all our efforts to connect will be fundamentally flawed -- tinged with the slightly neurotic need for more approval, information, and virtual friends -- none of which are really necessary once we master the fine art of tapping into who we really are in the first place.

Sort of like putting the isness back in business.

And speaking of the future -- high rises are out. Blog cabins are in.

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2011
Treat Your Clients Like God

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At least once a week I am approached by a struggling entrepreneur and asked how I market my services.

More often that not, I blurt out any number of MBA-like platitudes.

But when I really stop and think about it, my answer morphs into something much deeper.

"I treat my clients like God."

Yup. That's my marketing plan. Plain and simple. I treat my clients like God.

After the proverbial blank stare, the cash-strapped entrepreneur before me relaxes and smiles.

Deep down in their entrepreneurial bones, what I'm saying makes perfect sense.

Treating your clients like God is the way to go -- not as some kind of clever way to get a competitive edge, but because that is what life is all about: Loving what you do. Being fully present. Seeing the beauty in everyone. Expressing your appreciation. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. And ultimately, doing great work born of a deep-seated gratitude for the opportunity to serve.

PS: "If God invited you to a party and said, 'Everyone in the ballroom tonight will be my special guest,' How would you then treat them when you arrived? Indeed, Indeed! And Hafiz knows that there is no one in this world who is not standing upon His jeweled dance floor!"
~ Hafiz

Idea Champions

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:27 AM | Comments (3)

July 15, 2011
It's Your Choice

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"There is sadness and there is joy. When you experience sadness, you think joy has gone somewhere? No, it's right there. And when you experience joy, you think sadness has disappeared? No, it's right there. When you experience clarity, do you think confusion is gone? No, it's right there. When you experience confusion, do you think clarity is gone? No, it's right there. But you have chosen one over the other."

- Maharaji, Barcelona, 6/25/11

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July 13, 2011
Fun Is Inside of You

Hot off the digital press! Just got this from Portugal...



Big thanks to Filomena Lopes for the heads up!

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:34 PM | Comments (2)

July 12, 2011
We Are One, But Two Is Also Good

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1. "It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." - Charles Darwin

2. "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

3. "If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless. If they disagree all the time, both are useless." - Darryl F. Zanuck

4. "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." - Henry Ford

5. "Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

6. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton

7. "It takes two to speak the truth -- one to speak, and another to hear." - Henry David Thoreau

8. "If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." - George Bernard Shaw

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9. "Politeness is the poison of collaboration." - Edwin Land

10. "I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively." - Golda Meir

11. "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." - Napoleon Hill

12. "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." - Althea Gibson

13. "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." - Phil Jackson

14. "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." - Henry Ford

15. "The lightning spark of thought generated in the solitary mind awakens its likeness in another mind." -- Thomas Carlyle

Got others? Lay them on me!

This post is dedicated to Ramsey Margolis

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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:59 AM | Comments (2)

July 08, 2011
Golden Nomad of Ecstasy

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Alone beneath a full moon once again, I gather together all I can give: milkweed, tears, and the awful silence between too many promises.

Everything else is a dream, a glove dropped and awaiting your warm hand. Won't you break this bubble of unknowing? Won't you end this masquerade?

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If you don't come and claim me from this fantasy of loving you what in the world will happen to me? Will I wander forever in this unwritten scripture like some parable of faithfulness, seeing you in others' eyes, but never in your own?

Should I ride the undertow inside me back to the shell of our first meeting?

My heart was a desert then, my body a stone. But you, golden nomad of ecstasy, you burned the world away in a glance, spoke to me like thunder and turned my beggarless wandering into pure dance.

Today, slightly confused and needing a mother, I find myself leaping -- leaping from earth to sun and back again, not in search of you. No. Because of you.

Excerpted from
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Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:52 AM | Comments (2)

July 03, 2011
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

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July 02, 2011
Join the Participation Party!

If you are enjoying the gift of Knowledge and want to help out in any way, there are tons of opportunities to do so. No matter what your schedule, skills, or location, there is something for everyone. Join in the fun. Turn theory into practice. Be part of the inspired effort to help Maharaji spread his message of peace.

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"The most important thing is that the feeling of participation has to come from your heart. It cannot be a mandatory thing. It has to come from your heart." - Maharaji

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About Maharaji (aka Prem Rawat)

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:43 AM | Comments (0)

Welcome to Mitch Ditkoff's blog about what's really important in this life: Peace, gratitude, love, joy, clarity, and the effort required to wake up and smell the roses. Enjoy!

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