This summer we’re creating a Wild + Brave Culture...

We believe that culture is what drives individuals, teams, and organizations. Culture can either drive you apart or draw you together.

Every individual has a culture, as does every family, and every organization. And most important of all:

Culture starts with you!

Culture is a hot topic in companies and organizations because they’ve discovered that a negative culture results in lower profits, decreased engagement, and lower personal happiness levels of everyone connected to the culture- with both employees and customers. But positive cultures promote engagement, loyalty and innovation, and result in higher levels of satisfaction and happiness for everyone involved.  

Culture by design is built around common values, expectations, and  is cultivated by each person in the group. Culture by default often results in misunderstanding, missed connections and misplaced loyalties.

Just Like Grandma Did...

It’s a lot like the starter dough my grandmother cultured and used to make her famous sourdough biscuits. She kept a little of the original culture or “starter” dough from previous batches and put little of it into each new batch. This starter dough influenced the taste of every biscuit...she could always depend on them turning out with that same great taste and texture.

Culture is contatious!

Cuture starts with you and spreads to those around you.

Each of us contributes to the culture around us- either by default or design. If we want a positive culture then we need to start it!

What are you starting?

Are you intentionally cultivating a culture that honors your values and goals among the people that you live with, work with and play with -or are you subject to the culture that surrounds you?

It’s a lot easier to work, innovate, and enjoy your life when the people you spend the most time with -  your team, family, and friends - are building a shared culture by design.

To create a Wild + Brave culture, decide what behaviors and beliefs you value and then create a strategy to help you live true to them- one wild idea and one brave action at a time.

So to kick off our summer of culture we’ve decided to challenge ourselves to create a culture of happy for ourselves first thing in the morning.

Wake Up Happy

This week we're challenging you to take One Brave Action. We want you to "Wake Up Happy." It's what we're talking about in our Wild + Brave Conversation this week. 

We realize that "Happy" is a feeling. As unruly as our emotions can seem at times, research has verified that the root of our emotions is our thoughts! Each emotion you feel has a thought as a precursor!

This is why even though you can't choose how you feel, you CAN choose the THOUGHTS you have. And through them, you determine how you will feel.

So really, you CAN choose how you feel.

Tomorrow's happy can start tonight.

You can start right now on the Wake Up Happy train by choosing TONIGHT what thought you are going think in the morning that will spark a happy emotion for yourself.

So what's a thought that makes you happy? Is it remembering something kind someone said recently? Is it the fact that "vacation is coming soon!"? Maybe there's even a song that makes you feel AMAZINGLY HAPPY!

Tonight you can pick a way to prompt that thought for yourself in the morning. Maybe it's leaving a sticky note on your night stand or changing your morning alarm to your happy song.

Wake Up Happy Formula

For those of you who love a formula, here it is:

   *DO THIS AT NIGHT* 

1.  Pick The Thought (Choose a thought that sparks your happy.)

2.  Pick The Reminder (Choose something to prompt you to think the thought first thing and set out the reminder.)

   *DO THIS IN THE MORNING* 
3. Say It Out Loud (This really makes it real.)
4. Do it With a Smile (This primes your brain for happy and gives you an emotional boost.)
5. Share Your Happy (Post on Social Media some part of your morning "happy" using  using #WildAndBrave and #WakeUpHappy so we can see you completed the challenge!)