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Archive for June, 2013

Intentional Leadership — D1, W2, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on June 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

One day at a time, one step at a time. That’s what perseverance takes. Place one foot in front of the other, repeat; keep moving forward. Taking these small steps forward will help to counteract the headwinds of resistance.

Let’s take a journey back in time and consider the story of James Stockdale, American Prisoner of War (POW) in Vietnam. Commander Stockdale was a pilot during the Vietnam war. His plan was shot down and he parachuted into the jungle. Captured by the Vietcong, he spent seven years in the Hoa Lo prison, where the prisoners were subjected to severe brutality.

Despite his conditions and circumstances, Stockdale did not give in. In fact, he helped his fellow POWs remain strong by leading them through small but meaningful acts that helped them preserve their dignity.

One of his first initiatives was to devise a communication system the POWs could use to “talk” to each other, by tapping on the walls or floor. Before he arrived, captives had been isolates from each other and anyone who spoke was tortured by the guards. Thanks to Stockdale’s resourcefulness, the POWs could now communicate with each other and know they were not alone, as they endured their captivity.

He helped them persevere by creating a code of honor for POWs who were tortured. As you are probably aware, it was humiliating for American soldiers to give information to their captors. As the soldiers maintained their silence, their captors increased their extreme torture measures; and total silence typically led to a death sentence. Stockdale led the prisoners to a mutual pledge to resist as long as possible, and he gave them an outlet for confessing anything they had been forced to reveal. Through these simple confessionals, the soldiers unloaded their guilt, which allowed them to not be overcome with shame.

Today, think about your resourcefulness and how it could help someone else endure adversity. In your circle, who could you creatively support by giving them the encouragement they need to face another day?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As we begin this Friday, I am filled with excitement and anticipation. I leave for Guatemala on Sunday, and will be there for a full week. The John Maxwell Team will spend about 1-1/2 days in training, learning the new Transformational Leadership material from John, and then we will each train small groups (about 40 people per training, for several hours each day) over the course of the next three days. We will be teaching business leaders, government leaders, teachers, law enforcement officers, and members of the clergy. It’s going to be a phenomenal week and I am so looking forward to this opportunity.

I still have a few things to do to prepare…like pack! And, I’m looking ahead to the weeks that follow, as I have a lot going on.

This month’s topic is very relevant for me, as I build my business, perseverance is critical. Each and every day, I am planting the seeds that will allow my business to grow; I must be patient while the seeds germinate and eventually sprout and thrive. As you can imagine, a lot of things happen that could be quite discouraging, but I must not lose faith. I am beyond 100% confident I have found my calling, and I will allow nothing to deter me from making this work.

What about you…what are you passionate about that you are driving toward? What first steps can you take this weekend, that will allow you to persevere on your journey?

What else needs your time and attention?

What relationships do you need to nurture? Build? Repair?

What do you need to do for you?

What can you do over the weekend to set yourself up for success in the coming weeks?

Have an intentional weekend, and I’ll “see” you Monday!

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W1, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Time to get your journal out and spend some time writing about the following questions today (and, really, over the next week — if you want a fuller experience with this):

Why is taking the first step to persevere so important?

What factors may help you to take the first step?

What can you gain by persevering in your personal and professional life?

Of course, I can speak only for myself…but it really takes a lot to get me to quit on something I am interested in or passionate about. I have to have exhausted every avenue I can imagine to make something work before I move on. And I rarely have a Plan B! I generally approach things with this mind set — I may not know everything I need to know, or everyone I need to know, and I may not feel as if I have every resource will need right in my immediate grasp, but I trust that those things will become available as I need them, I will learn along the way…and unless it’s nuclear physics or brain surgery, it doesn’t occur to me that I can’t succeed.

So…if it’s a true passion, I just keep going!

What about you?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W1, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on June 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As you spent some time yesterday reflecting on stories of perseverance, including your own, take some time today thinking of more examples of when you persevered in difficult situations. What were the first steps you took in each of those situations?

Situation 1:

First Step:

Situation 2:

First Step:

Situation 3:

First Step:

Now that you have it written out in black and white, do you see any commonalities in the first steps you take in persevering against the odds?

Now the key is to apply what you’ve learned and take a first step to persevere through a challenge you are currently facing.

What’s your current situation?

What first step will you take?

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The Birthday Fight — a story of perseverance!

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Folks: As you know, this month I am writing about perseverance, and while updating my Facebook page today, I came across this story from my friend and accountant, Rebecca Dimit. It struck me immediately as a tale of perseverance in many aspects. I asked her for permission to share it with you, and she graciously agreed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“For the past few months, my three year old son, JJ, has been planning (on his own) a suprise birthday fight for my dad’s birthday. So we decided to make the party a suprise also. In April, JJ loaded up a bag of toy weapons and took them to my parents for the fight. He has been very persistant about it. He decided it would be boys against girls. He even planned out who would have what weapon.  He was so excited when the day had finally arrived!  Apparently, JJ had inherited some of Dad’s vision and ability to plan details and patiently wait for things to fall into place.

My sister from NC was here with her 3 babies (3 and under) and my brother and I and our families and several of dad’s closest friends and family where in attendance at the birthday party that evening. We grilled out on the grill Dad LOVED and ate dinner outside (something Dad enjoyed so much).  After the meal, JJ ran inside to get the small arsenal of weapons he had collected and began distributing them. Even my baby neice, Claire, (almost 2) had a small plastic dagger to hold while on my hip. My mom played Scotland the Brave on the bagpipes. I lead the girls team from around the house running and shouting “Charge.” Mom continued to play while we “fought” with toy guns, swords, bow and arrows, baseball bats, etc to the beautiful ancient war music.  It was the most fun and fabulous birthday fight I have ever seen. After the battle, we had a moment of silence, then mom played Amazing Grace for the wounded.  Dad thought it was hilarious. 🙂  We got some video and great pictures of Dad with the family.

Later that night, we got all the kids to go to sleep and my sibilings and I sat around the kitchen table talking and laughing.  Mom finally wore out and went upstairs to bed at midnight.  She passed Dad in the hallway, they kissed.  He patted her on the butt (as he often did).  Then he sat down at the computer and Mom went to bed.  A few minutes later he had the stroke.  The last thing he heard was the laughter of his children and the sweet silence of knowing that we were all there in the house safe, happy, and loved.

He died quickly and practically painlessly.  My Dad had amazing vision and planned out every detail of everything.  He couldn’t have arranged a more perfect time for death. God arranged every detail perfectly.  Dad never gave up a fight.  He taught me to fight with determination and faith.  He was one of my closest friends and valued advisors, when I wanted to complete my college degree in less than the traditional length of time, he showed me how to obtain special permission to take more credit hours than the college allowed (after being denied by a few school officials) by encouraging to me keep fighting it until I got what I wanted.  He never stopped encouraging me to take the CPA exam and in the 13 years of that journey, he was the only one who told me not to give up on my dream.  He knew I could do it and I never would have if it weren’t for my Dad.

I respect my Dad and am so proud of him and his life.  He was anxiously anticipating his retirement. He had accomplished almost everything he set out to do for his life and was finally ready to rest.  In my soul, I  know that Dad is enjoying the best retirement ever now.  He didn’t get to buy the sports car he always wanted, instead he can soar through the clouds.  He didn’t get to travel the world with mom, instead he got to see the moon and stars.  He didn’t get to build his dream house, instead he is living in a mansion far more perfect and wonderful than he could have ever imagined.  He didn’t get the state position he often mentioned he wanted, instead he is now in kahoots with the very top dog.  I know Dad is in Heaven anticipating the arrival of each of us.  If he could talk to us, he would encourage us to keep fighting and never give up.  II Timothy 4:7-8 says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day…”  Wednesday, June 8’th, Dad finished his fight.  Even in his death he will be helping other people.  What more could a person ask for in death?

My six year old daughter, Lacey was sad at first, but yesterday she woke up and said with a big smile that she wasn’t sad anymore. She was so excited that Poppie was up in Heaven walking around with Jesus. 🙂  My neice Kylee had a similar reaction. Throughout their childhood, both the girls and JJ have been told often about how wonderful Heaven is with beautiful dresses, crowns, and castles. I wanted to nurture the beautiful image of Heaven and make it something they could anticipate in such an event as this.

I appreciate each of Dad’s friends and family so much and the love and support you have offered us during this time of grief. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and sympathy. We will need them over the years. We are a very close family so the pain is deep, but also, we have each other to lean on during this time and above all we have the comfort of knowing that Dad is finally getting the rest he has worked so hard for all his life.”

Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your story with all of us!

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on June 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Story telling is a powerful way to teach lessons and learn from others. Think about some of your favorite movies…are there some on your list that are about people who persevered against sometimes unimaginable odds or the story of an athlete who overcame extreme difficulties to excel. Aren’t these the stories that grab at your heart strings and pull you in?

How about the story of Nick Vujicic? Born with a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs, Nick is an internationally known motivational speaker; clearly undaunted by what most of us would consider impossible odds.

When we see, hear, or read these stories, we cheer the people on and want them to succeed.

What story of perseverance comes to mind for you? Why do you remember it?

What makes stories of perseverance memorable?

Why do we find it hard to believe that we can succeed?

This question reminds me of a comment one of my mentors, Paul Martinelli, made last February during a teaching about reaching for our dreams. He said, “I believed it was possible for all of you…but not for me.” Why do we believe it’s possible for others to overcome the obstacles and beat the odds, but not for ourselves?

Describe a time when you persevered? What was the outcome? What was your reward?

I would love to hear your story!

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Intentional Leadership — D1, W1, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on June 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Are you familiar with the story of Theodor Geisel? He was a writer and illustrator. Many years ago, having written and illustrated what he thought was a very clever children’s book, he set off to find a publisher. Filled with enthusiasm, he went to the publishing houses to share his work, confident one of them would love it as much as he did and agree to publish it. One-by-one he went; and one-by-one, 27 publishing houses rejected the book — 27 rejections!

Feeling quite dejected, and understandably so, following his last publishing house rejection, Geisel bumped into a friend who happened to work for Vanguard Press. He explained to his friend what had happened. He even threatened to go home and burn the manuscript! We have no way of knowing what motivated his friend — pity or true support of Geisel’s work — to take up the cause of getting the book published, but he did get the book to press. Soon after, Geisel’s first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, was published under the author’s pen name: Dr. Seuss!

By the time he passed in 1991, Geisel had written more than 60 books as Dr. Seuss; selling more than half a billion copies around the globe, his stories changed the way we thought about and measured children’s stories. Imagine what we would have missed, had Geisel not bumped into his friend that day…if he had gone home and burned the manuscript. What if he had given up after the first, tenth, or even 20th rejection?

His story is just one great example of perseverance and the rewards we may reap if we persist. As a leader, you will encounter multiple (and sometimes inexplicable!) sources of resistance to your initiatives and ideas. You will experience times when you doubt your abilities. You will be tempted to quit. But know this: If you press on and pick yourself up after you stumble and continue to press forward, your influence may extend farther than you ever dreamed.

For today, ask yourself this: What motivates me to keep going when I encounter obstacles?

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Intentional Leadership — Month 6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The reality of leadership is that it requires hard work and regular investments of energy and sweat!

As a leader, there will be times when you encounter resistance. There will be times when you question whether the time, energy, and effort are worth it. There will be times when you feel like giving up. What you choose to do in your darkest moments will define you as a leader. When adversity comes to call, will you fade into the background or will you persist in fighting to move forward?

The truth is, nobody advances in leadership by coasting to the top. Leaders are distinguished by struggling upward through the daily grind.

Consider the story of Nelson Mandela. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to a life of hard labor in prison for his anti-apartheid convictions. For 18 years, he lived in a cramped cell and toiled in a rock quarry. Each year, he was allowed 30 minutes with a visitor and could receive and send only two letters. These were his only opportunities to communicate with the outside world.

It’s reasonable for you to assume that since I’m telling you his story as a lesson in perseverance, you already know what choices he made with respect to fading away — allowing some pretty depressing circumstances to alter the course of his life — or choosing to persist.

His perseverance and strength of character over those 18 years he was incarcerated earned him the respect of everyone, including his prison guards! Rather than drifting into obscurity while in prison, Mandela boosted his image while in prison. When he was released, he emerged with a higher profile than ever and leveraged his influence to bring about liberty and a democratic South Africa.

No small feats, indeed!

As we move into month six on our Intentional Leadership journey, take a few minutes to consider your responses to the following questions:

What unfavorable conditions are making your leadership difficult?

What steps can you take to remove or neutralize the sources of resistance on the job?

How might you grow stronger by enduring these hard times?

What rewards might you receive if you persevere through the toughest aspects of your job?

We will be digging deeper into these thoughts in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to working through them with you.

In the meantime, have an intentional day!

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Intentional Leadership — M5 — Passion Wrap-up

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

These past four weeks, we’ve focused on passion. We’ve gained a clearer understanding of what passion is, what our passions are, and how it rallies around purpose and supplies leaders with energy.

At the end of the day, our appetites matter just as much — if not more than — our aptitudes! What we are passionate about, fired up about, driven by, is much more important than what our skills are…because passion will drive us to move forward with a force beyond our wildest imagination, if we allow it to!

Before you can lead with confidence and force, you must first understand where you want to go, and why. What consumes your thoughts? What grabs your attention, tugs at your heart, and won’t let go?

Once you discover your passion, nurture it. Life will assault your passions, disappointment will assault your passions, and responsibilities — and, yes, self-limiting beliefs and self-imposed constraints — will try to crowd it out and keep you from pursuing your passion. I encourage you to be strong; refuse to bury your passion under life’s many challenges. Passion is the key to finding fulfillment in life.

Consider what Henry David Thoreau said:

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

I encourage you to not let this be an apt description of you. Take the time to discover your passion. Then nurture it, feed it, allow it the time and space to grow. Harness it to your leadership and the song you sing will outlive you.

Having only recently (within the last few years) allowed my passion to be fully acknowledged and developing my dream and plan to move forward into my potential and my vision, I can say from experience, it’s an amazing, exciting, energizing, reinvigorating, fun adventure. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

So, what are you passionate about? And what are you doing about it?

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