You may access the current seminar schedule by going here to see what the next event is near you. If you missed the Durban seminar last week, I'll be in Richards Bay on Tuesday 6 June. Hey, it's a bit of a drive, but so what?

2. Why our Values are So Important

*feature article*

Perhaps no more than 50 years ago some of the most pressing problems facing society were boredom, what to do with one's time, how to spend it wisely and how to equip oneself for the future. Much has changed in 50 short years. The issues seem far more complex and things now seem to move at lightening pace. We now have SMS, MMS, MySpace, MXit, podcasts, blogs and heaven knows what. The most compelling personal issues we now face are...

Distraction, what to do with ones time, how to spend it wisely and how to equip oneself for the future. Quie simply, distraction has replaced boredom. There has never been a time in history that we've been more distracted - and the distractions? High tech toys, subscription TV, the internet, the cell phone revolution.

The time that our values are really tested is when we are faced with temptation. Whether it's to do something urgent instead of something important, being distracted from what we have to do by what we'd prefer to do, or doing something tempting instead of something worthwhile. No one who couldn't conquer temptation ever got to write a book.

Yet, I know of no-one who's PHI (permanent happiness index) rose one iota due to a newer model cell phone or car, a fancier house, a privater school for their kids or a stud through the nose. True value comes from other things.

Hold up a banknote and a seven year old will tell you how many bucks it is - in other words it's value. He will tell you that two rhinos equals one elephant, and it takes four pink lions to equal a leopard (shows you when last Tito was at the Kruger Park...) and how many bucks make up a purple buffalo. But what we truly value as individuals is clearly demonstrated by what we spend our time doing. Today, no-one quite seems to have enough of it - time, that is. Isn't it therefore wise to ensure that you get the most possible value from the time you have?

What's practically guaranteed is that each day most of us have the same amount of time to make something of our lives. How we allocate that time has much to do with our priorities, our values and our habits. We can, however, adjust our priorities from what we do automatically (habits) to what we conciously decide to do to fulfil our objectives.

If you're getting to the end most days feeling unsatisfied, as if you haven't extracted the juice out of the day, it's probably because your current routine is driven by necessity instead of by your values. It may also be that your priorities are being compromised by someone else's. And that causes serious discomfort!

Dr. John F.Demartini says there is no procrastination. People who do so are simply not sufficiently motivated in their hierarchy of values to do what they're procrastinating about.

If what you do today is responsible for where you'll be tomorow (I said that), we owe it to ourselves to take stock of our own true hierarchy of values and to consciously live them. We need to learn to acknowledge that when we don't, we're going to end that day disatisfied. We should understand that disagreement with another person is, in effect, simply a conflict of values - it doesn't make them or you bad or inadequate. In other words, what is important to them may be of lesser importance to you.

Our values are our most powerful personal motivators. Our minute by minute actions indicate what those values really are. If your actions are not giving you the outcomes you want, whether in the context of family, work, finance or play, you can re-examine and alter them - today.

It is an ability unique to humans. We can adjust our values, shift our mindset and change out outcomes, any time we want.

Paul du Toit, Mindset Shifter.

3. One and two day course schedule 2007

Congruence Training (Pty) Ltd has 15 programmes accredited with the Services Seta

Our current public course schedule with pricing and venues is now available and posted on our website for Gauteng and Mpumalanga - please go here for details.

We'd particularly like to draw your attention to our new Assertiveness one-day programme. We're conducting a public version in Gauteng on 23 April 2007 and it is available in-house too.

4. Who's doing your Workplace Skills Plan?

With the promulgation of the Skills Development Act, it became a legal requirement for companies to submit a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) to their relevant SETAs. In short a Workplace Skills Plan is a document outlining an organisation's annual staff training and development intent. The WSP is the first step in claiming back skills development levies from your SETA. If, like many companies you're battling to get your WSP completed and submitted by 29 June 2007, we can help you, quickly, efficiently and inexpensively. Pop an email to mailto:trudi@congruence.co.za or phone us on 0860 503 191. Please don't leave it until the last minute - we're not going to be able to help you on 26 June for this year!

5. Two Oceans Marathon Saturday 7 April 2007

This year I'm going to have another crack at completing my 3rd consecutive 56km Two Oceans Ultra Marathon on the Easter weekend. This time the aim is to do a little better than scraping in just under 6 hours. But most important, it provides Congruence newsletter subscribers the opportunity to give to a needy cause.

The Botshabelo community project outside Magaliesburg is making a huge difference in the lives of 400 families and over 160 abandoned and orphaned children, many of whom have AIDS. by creating a stable environment, food shelter, clothing and schooling, the project gives hope to children that had none, and a place to live for people who were previously homeless. By sponsoring my run per kilometre, you'll be ensuring that they receive a cash injection just when they need it, as winter starts to bite. As Con Cloete, who runs the community with his wife Marion says: "We're grateful for anyone who contributes anything, but the one thing we never have enough of is money."

Fair talk, I'd say. It's easy to give away old clothes, money is a different story! Let's give a hand, as we have the past 2 years. Sponsorships can be anything from R1 per kilometre (R56 donation) upwards. Please go to www.congruence.co.za, complete the short sponsorship form and submit, or email your pledge to mailto:director@congruence.co.za

This year's goal - 5hrs 40 minutes. Training is going well so far, and currently doing over 70km per week. I'll take the pain, you can make the difference. Will report back in the next newsletter.