Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

Remember how Steve regained control despite a vindictive and overbearing boss? 
Steve's life had become miserable since the new boss arrived. His boss never praises or affirms, rather always blames and pushes everyone. Steve was at his limit and ready to march out. 
Then, it occurred to him that his current 'bad situation' could be a fertile training ground to develop his power of being proactive. He carefully crafted a list of 'promises' to himself:
- go to the gym before work
- eat on-time and healthy at work
- organize his tasks and tackle them in the order of priority
- send his boss daily and weekly progress updates...  
Above all, Steve realized that despite the circumstance he could 'choose' to be happy everyday, 'choose' not to complain about his boss and instead to help him with empathy. 

This week, let's develop our power of 'being proactive' by making 'little' promises to ourselves and trying to keep them.

Have an excellent week!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

Remember how shopping cart was invented?
Sylvan Goldman owned a small grocery store. He tried many ways to encourage his customers to buy more - promotions, discounts, loyalty cards, etc.. The result was marginal, until he carefully observed how his customers shopped. He noticed people bought as much as they could carry. They stopped shopping when their hands were full!

Armed with this basic insight, Sylvan found some wooden chairs and affixed wheels to the legs and a basket to the seats. The newly invented shopping carts not only made his cash register sing, but also opened up a whole new world of possibility for department stores of the future.

This week, let's observe carefully to 'see' what was actually there and what is missing when trying to solve problems.

Have an excellent week Team Credo!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivational Message

Greetings everyone-

Remember how Murphy helped 'sinking' Bobby drastically improve his performance in school?

Bobby was constantly late, disruptive in class and rarely did his homework. Frustrated, his teachers sent him to Murphy, the school counselor. Murphy didn't adopt the usual 'archaeology' method, digging into the roots of his misery. Bobby's background unfortunately is messy and fixing it was not in Murphy’s control. Instead, Murphy looked for Bobby's 'bright spots'. Bobby did relatively well at Math. Bobby said he liked his Math teacher. Murphy decoded 3 things the Math teacher did differently:
- She greeted Bobby at the door (so Bobby felt welcome),
- She gave him easier homework (Bobby felt specially supported),
- She always made sure Bobby understood the instructions (since Bobby has a learning disability).
Murphy recommended these 3 simple things to all Bobby's teachers. In 3 months, Bobby's performance improved by a whooping 80%!

This week, let's look for simple, small solutions when facing a daunting big problem.

Have a great week

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

Remember how Murphy helped 'sinking' Bobby drastically improve his performance in school?
Bobby was constantly late, disruptive in class and rarely did his homework. Frustrated, his teachers sent him to Murphy, the school counselor. Murphy didn't adopt the usual 'archaeology' method, digging into the roots his misery. Bobby's background unfortunately messy and fixing it was in Murphy’s control. Instead, Murphy looked for Bobby's 'bright spots'. Bobby did relatively well at Math. Bobby said that he liked his Math teacher. Murphy decoded 3 things the Math teacher did differently: 
- She greeted Bobby at the door (so Bobby felt welcome), 
- She gave him assistance with homework (Bobby felt specially supported), and 
- She always made sure Bobby understood the instructions (since Bobby has a learning disability). 
Murphy recommended these 3 simple things all Bobby's teachers. In three months, Bobby's performance improved by a whooping 80%!
This week, let's look for simple, small solutions when facing a daunting problem. 

Have an excellent week!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

Remember how NASA landed man on the moon?

In 1961, President Kennedy challenged NASA 'to land a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth' by 1970. To NASA, this was a 'mission impossible'. So, they simplified the mission. Instead of working on trying to land a man on the moon, they decided to hit the moon - literally. Three years later, they successfully smashed Ranger 7 into the moon at high velocity. Then they went through 15 ever-evolving, slightly more complex sub-missions which eventually led to the magnificent moment in the human history - moon walk by Armstrong.

This week, let's not waste energy solving hard problems head-on. Instead, productively grapple with simpler cases to learn how to deal with the complexity.

Have a great week Team Credo!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivational

Greetings everyone- 

This week’s motivation comes from how NASA landed man on the moon. In 1961, President Kenney challenged NASA 'to land a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth' by 1970. To NASA, this was a 'mission impossible'. So, they simplified the mission. Instead of working on trying to land a man on the moon, they decided to hit the moon - literally. 

Three years later, they successfully smashed Ranger 7 into the moon at high velocity. Then they went through 15 ever-evolving, slightly more complex sub-missions which eventually led to the magnificent moment in the human history - moon walk by Armstrong. 

 This week, let's not waste energy solving hard problems head-on. Instead, productively grapple with simpler cases to learn how to deal with the complexity. 

 Have an excellent week Team Credo! 

 Sincerely, 
 Your friends at Credo

Mental Health Services Brochure

Monday Motivational

Greetings Team Credo-

This week’s motivation comes from the empowering 'democracy' of time.

Every being is not given equal intellect, money or health. But everyone gets the opportunity of exactly 24 hours each day. No genius, however great, is rewarded even a single extra minute. Hence time is an ideal democracy - the great equalizer of our opportunity. The great beauty of time is that one cannot waste it in advance. The next day, the next hour are lying there ready for you, as perfect, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your career. We focus so much on spending our monthly income wisely, and so little on spending our daily income of 24 hours optimally.

This week, let's realize that the most 'effective' use of our 24 hours is a thrilling game of equal opportunity - whose winners accumulate health, wealth and happiness.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings Team Credo-

This week’s motivation comes from Norm successfully cutting costs.

In 2008, Norm's business had to cut costs. Instead of calling a big meeting and making a presentation, Norm sent an email, "We are going through the greatest economic depression of our times. To help bring down costs, now new pens will only be provided in exchange for fully used old pens. I hope you too will do all you can to bring down costs and help us tide through."

The next day Norm went to a meeting without his pen. But no one lent him a pen! They said, "Boss, we are going through very tough times and you need to keep track of your pen!" Norm realized that the message had taken full effect. With enthusiasm his staff went about creating innovative ways to lower costs.

This week, let’s focus on creating a small change that triggers more positive steps.

Have a great week everyone!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

Remember how 'Systems' win where 'Goals' struggle?

Brett’s wise mentor explained: 'Goals' are outcomes we desire. 'Systems' are the process which we control and lead us to this goal. For example:

- Goal: To loose 5 kilos. System: 10 sit-ups before shower; Plan meals at breakfast; Walk after dinner.
- Goal: To write a book. System: Write a 100 word article every Monday! :)
- Goal: To be a top-performer at work. System: Seek a boss who inspires; be responsive; send early drafts; prioritize tasks each morning.
Goals are great for target setting. But Systems deploy our daily actions towards achievement. The goal is to win the FIFA world-cup. But it is the system the teams follow for practice each day that is really going to matter. World-class systems give world-class results.

This week, let's focus on our system instead of our goal. 

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone!

This week's motivation comes from the story of Fred the Florist who mixed up orders but saved his business with his humor.

A new business location had just opened and the owner's business partner sent him flowers.

The owner was dismayed when he saw the note read 'Rest in Peace' attached to the beautiful arrangement. The angry business partner called up Fred the Florist, threatening to sue him.

Fred simply replied, 'Sir, I can imagine how upset you must be. Perhaps you could imagine this - somewhere at a funeral there are beautiful flowers with a note saying 'Congratulations on a new location.' Immediately both men started chuckling. His sense of humor had saved his business!

This week, let's remember to be humorous beyond admitting our mistakes when facing a tough situation. While there are certainly times where we must be serious in this field, remember…humor is a great tool for self-care!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

 

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

This week’s story is inspired by a man named Tom and how his CEO realized grand visions.

The CEO explained, Tom I bet that each morning you feel motivated to clear emails instead of turning-around the factory or planning your future. That's because clearing emails gives you a 'tick', a sense of accomplishment, right away. While turning around the factory will take 5 years to give you just 1 'tick', and you will have nothing show for on a daily basis.

So naturally, we tend to prioritize ready 'ticks' over real 'tasks'.

The secret is to break down big tasks into little ticks. For example, to fix the factory: 
[v] Mon, draft a memo on top 3 things that will help the factory
[ ] Tue, type the memo
[ ] Wed, send the memo to Jack for his suggestions.. etc

This week, let us too create a tick-list of our real tasks. 

Have a great week everyone!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivation

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation is inspired by Laura’s failure at gymnastics.

Laura, 9 years old, was participating in her first gymnastics competition. She performed well in five different categories, but did not win a single medal that day. 
Her father could have said, "Laura, I think you were great today." Or, "Laura, I feel you deserved a medal today." 

But instead he said, "Laura, I know how you feel. It's so disappointing to have your hopes up and to perform your best but not to win. But you know, you haven't really earned it yet. There were many girls there who’ve been in gymnastics longer than you and who’ve worked a lot harder than you. If this is something you really want, then it's something you'll really have to work for." And Laura did put much more effort, winning medals in the next meet. 

This week, let's try to give 'honest feedback' that is really uplifting. 

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Mental Health Clinic Ribbon Cutting scheduled for May 19th

Monday Motivational

Greetings-

This week’s motivation comes from lessons on how to deal with criticism.

Julia was a PhD student at Stanford. After several years of work, she submitted her paper for publication. As due process, some months later she received 'reviews', that is, 10 single spaced pages criticizing her paper. Julia was crushed. She felt judged. Her work was flawed, and by extension so was she.

Her Professor suggested a change in mindset. She suggested, Julia it is the reviewer's job to critique. Your job is to rebut, refine and re-submit an improved version. This is not about you. It is not personal. It is just everyone doing their job. Suddenly, Julia felt enthused again. She came back strong to improve and defend her work. Her resubmission was accepted and proudly published.

This week, let us too learn how to 'fine-tune' our mindset when facing 10 pages of typed criticism!

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation comes from the concept of a day in a day.

We often feel that there is not enough time left in a working day. We work 9am to 5pm and treat the remaining hours as 'prologue' and 'epilogue' to this 'work day'. But, 9am to 5pm of work still leaves us with 16 hours a day. Allocating 8 hours for sleep, we still have 8 hour per day outside work. We are the masters of these 8 hours. We can choose exactly how to utilize it (or to waste it). But we need to realize that each day we have a full 8 hour day, within our power to use, build upon and gain from. It starts with a mental attitude to harness a full 8 hour day, outside work, everyday. 

This week, let's organize our 'day in a day' and gain dividends from it.

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Join us for Baked Ziti!

Credo hosts Baked Ziti Dinner to benefit American Heart Association

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2014 

Contact: Kristen Reed
Credo Community Center
595 W. Main St. Watertown, NY 13601
Tel: (315) 788-1530 — Fax: (315) 788-3794
Email: kristenr@credocommunitycenter.com

Credo hosts Baked Ziti Dinner to
benefit the American Heart Association

Watertown, NY– The employees of the Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions will be hosting a baked ziti dinner on April 24th to benefit the American Heart Association. The dinner will be held from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Italian American Club, located at 192 Bellew Avenue in Watertown.

The fundraising dinner will coincide with Credo’s participation in the American Heart Association’s North Country Heart Walk on April 26^th.

Baked ziti, refreshments, bread and desserts will be available. Tickets are only being sold in advance. Eat-in and take out options available. Tickets can be purchased for $10 from any Credo Community Center employee or by calling (315) 788-1530. Tickets for children ages 5-12 are $7 and children under the age of 5 eat for free.

Credo Community Center employees will be volunteering their time to prepare and serve the dinner, and will also bake desserts. Adirondack chairs, gift baskets and gift cards will be raffled with all proceeds to benefit the “Team Juanita” Heart Walk team.

“Team Juanita” was formed to support and encourage former Credo Residential Services Director Juanita Booth with her struggles with heart disease. The team is composed of current Credo employees, former employees, supporters, board members and family members of Mrs. Booth. Juanita was an 18 year employee of the Credo Community Center and forced to retire to focus on her health. “Heart disease is the number one killer of women. It can also be prevented. Help yourself, your children and grandchildren live long healthy lives by exercising 30 minutes a day, eating fresh foods, not smoking and addressing your stress!” says Booth. When asked about the most important piece of advice she can offer to folks about cardiovascular problems, Mrs. Booth replied “Love your heart!”

Executive Director of the Credo Community Center James Scordo adds, “Juanita is a past Credo employee who has been an inspiration to us all as she has taken the necessary steps to bounce back from a very serious heart condition.  Credo has always encouraged volunteering and giving back to the community. We also have a Wellness Program for our employees that promotes exercise, proper nutrition and overall emphasis on improved health. Once our employees understand the importance of volunteering and wellness they are then better prepared to motivate their clients to do the same.”

For more information regarding the fundraiser, please contact Dawn DeLair at (315) 788-1530.

About Credo Community Center
Credo Community Center has been in the business of providing outpatient and residential chemical dependency treatment for individuals, groups, families, adults, adolescents and children, whose lives have been negatively impacted by substance abuse since 1970. Credo also hosts a free family support group at their Watertown and Lowville outpatient clinics twice a month for those individuals impacted by a family member’s substance abuse. The official web-site can be found at www.credocommunitycenter.com.

###

Monday Motivational

Greetings Team Credo-

This week’s motivational is inspired by 500 people attending a seminar.

Suddenly their speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each person was then asked to write their name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

The people were then let into that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written on it within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically - colliding, pushing and shoving. At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon.

Then, the speaker asked each person to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

He said, "This is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life...the pursuit of happiness."

This week, let’s continue to be inspired to help others achieve happiness through our work and dedication each day.

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation is inspired by how scientists treat failure: as another data point in the experiment.

When scientists run an experiment, results are often negative. But, they are always useful as data points ultimately leading to the answer. Society however, looks upon failure differently. Failure defines who we are as a person. Failing a test means you're not smart enough. Failing to get fit means you're undesirable. Failing in business means you don't have what it takes. Failing at art means you're not creative. And so on. 

But for the scientist, a negative result is not an indication that they are a bad scientist. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Proving a hypothesis wrong is often just as useful as proving it right because you need to know what to do and what not to do. 

This week, let’s remember: failures are not you, they are just useful data points guiding your experiment. 

Have a great week everyone!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone!

This week’s motivation comes from Maria, the super successful real-estate agent.

Maria was 45 years old when she was left all alone - mid age, housewife, mother of two teenagers with no work experience for over 15 years. She became a property agent. But she was not closing any deals. She agreed. All agents shared the same listings – why should anyone choose her? 
At her low point, she realized why! She had managed 2 kids. She knew how to care, how to be a friend. But most of all, she knew how to make people feel good about themselves. And the market place values that very much - always has and always will. 

Then, Maria treated her clients with great care, made great friends and left them feeling good about themselves. Clients were her new ‘family’. Grand success followed.  

This week, let’s realize that making people 'feel good about themselves' is a great value-add. 

Have an excellent week everyone!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation comes from the concept that great leaders develop good stories.

Here's one from Richard Branson:

"I was in my twenties, taking a flight to the British Virgin Islands. I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was determined to get there. At the airport, my final flight was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private plane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do. So, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote: “Virgin Airlines. $29” on it. 

I went over to the stranded passenger and sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane. And we all went to the Virgin Islands that night."

This week, let us continue to make a difference and look for every day opportunities to develop a 'good' story!

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings!

This week’s motivational is brought to you by the story of how Henry drove his car into a ditch by mistake.

Henry walked to a nearby farm to ask for help.

'Warwick can get you out of that ditch' said the farmer, pointing to an old and weak looking mule standing in a field. Henry wasn't so sure but he let the farmer hitch the mule to the car. With a snap of the reins, the farmer shouted, 'Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!'

And the mule pulled the car out of the ditch! Amazed, Henry thanked the farmer, patted the mule, and asked, 'Why did you call out all of those names before you called Warwick?'

The farmer grinned and said, 'Old Warwick is just about blind. As long as he believes he's part of a team, he doesn't mind pulling.'

This week, let's remember to encourage building of team spirit to ensure contribution from everyone.

Have a great week everyone!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone!

This week’s motivation comes from the lifeboats on the Titanic.

The Titanic was the largest ship of its era. It had bays for 64 lifeboats to accommodate its full capacity of passengers. But the law required only 16 lifeboats.

Titanic's management decided to put only 16 lifeboats instead of 64. It saved money, made the ship look neater and the passengers got an 'unobstructed' view! So when the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank, over 65% of the passengers did not make it.

This week, let’s go above and beyond to prepare to be successful and avoid similar mistakes like the Titanic.

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Monday Motivational

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation comes from the definition of a leader.

A leader is someone with followers. And we follow those who make us feel uplifted, better. For this, leadership requires making strong ‘noble’ decisions:
- When an Albanian nun, Mother Teresa, decides to spend her life in the slums of Calcutta, serving the needy - she becomes a great leader, a great inspiration.
- When a boxer, Muhammad Ali, decides against harming any Vietnamese, loses his title and endures a 4 years ban - he becomes a great leader.

Leadership is not a title. It is the ability to uplift, inspire others to follow. It comes from making decisions that put others first. Such 'noble' actions echo in eternity.

This week, let's beware of the leadership fables of billionaires who give millions to a charity in Africa - and role model them as the great leaders of the modern world! Let's emulate Nelson Mandela instead. 

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivational Message

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation comes from the empowering 'democracy' of time. Every being is not given equal intellect, money or health. But everyone gets the opportunity of exactly 24 hours each day. No genius, however great, is rewarded even a single extra minute. Hence time is an ideal democracy - the great equalizer of our opportunity. The great beauty of time is that one cannot waste it in advance. The next day, the next hour are lying there ready for you, as perfect, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your career. We focus so much on spending our monthly income wisely, and so little on spending our daily income of 24 hours optimally.

This week, let's realize that the most 'effective' use of our 24 hours is a thrilling game of equal opportunity - whose winners accumulate health, wealth and happiness.

Have an excellent week!

-Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivational Message

Greetings everyone!

This week's motivation comes from the interview of comedian Steve Martin in the Charlie Rose show.Rose asked Martin for his advice for young entertainers.

"Nobody ever takes note of my advice because it's not the advice they wanted to hear. What they want to hear is - here's how you get an agent or write a script. But I always say - be so good they can't ignore you. Think about how you can be really good, and people will come to you."

Martin himself innovated his act to one that could not be ignored, for ten years. And when it was ready, it was a monster success. 

This week, let's be so good we can't be ignored.

Have a fantastic week!

-Your friends at Credo

Weekly Motivational Message

Greetings everyone-

This week’s motivation comes from the story of the 4-minute mile.
For thousands of years, people held the belief that it was impossible for a human to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. The ancient Greeks even had lions chase the runners, but it was still ‘impossible’.

But in 1954, Roger Banister broke this imposing belief barrier. What’s more significant is what this breakthrough did for others. In the whole history of the human race, no one had ever been able to break a 4-minute mile, yet after Roger within one year barrier, 37 other runners also broke it. His experience provided them with a strong sense of certainty that they too could ‘do the impossible.’ And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing!
This week, let’s look for shattering a belief barrier that may be holding us back.

Have a great week!

-Your friends at Credo