Like most people we have plans for our businesses. Strategic plans, budgets, succession plans and the like. The real question is do you have a plan for your life?
I have thought about this time and again meeting and working with executives who have taken on new roles in their organization or taken on a new role in another organization. They plan. They spend hours and days planning. They plan with others and they plan on their own. They plan the business from top to bottom. Then they unleash the behemoth on the company. We wont go into the success or otherwise of this exercise today.
The one thing they dont consider is planning for themselves. Planning their lives. Now I am not a life coach or therapist but youd think that some where along the way they would have figured out they needed a plan for their own actions. I say actions because a plan is pretty useless unless its acted on. People often have goals. Woopee. Setting goals has become the thing to do in business today. People will sell you courses on setting goals. People will coach you in setting goals. HR folks chase you down until youve filled in their form, decided on a set of goals and had them signed off.
Wonderful. The problem with setting goals for a person is there is often no basis on what to set goals for. OK lose weight, increase my salary, win an promotion etc. Well what do you base these goals on? I have seen business coaches, trainers and HR folk giving people a form and saying give me your goals for this year. Guess what? Whatever is written down is hooey and will never do a thing for anybody. All it did was place a check mark in a box. Listed goals. Good boy, Sit.
Having said all that, its actually vital that you do in fact have goals but its the process of getting you there thats going to make the difference between a basic exercise and you actually achieving them.
So what does that mean?
Well in business strategy we may follow the time honored a SWOT analysis or Porter Analysis and budgets. We may even be more creative, who knows. The fact of the matter is there are tools and programs designed to help this. We take the top team off to a great resort spend a few days whip a plan into shape, often with the help of some expensive suited consultant. Send off to the financial guys to model, make spreadsheets that cant be interpreted but look as if some real thought went into the whole process. Jazz it up and get the Board to support it.
As professionals what do we do? What is our role in this whole caboodle? Yeah we sat through the weekend, played a few rounds of golf and swore blind this was the year we wouldd exceed all expectations. Sound familiar? Yeah no wonder HBR has articles stating corporations typically achieve between 30 and 60 percent of their planned financial results! Executives typically cannott wait to get back to their comfy corner offices and fight the fires they have become accustomed to. It is ingrained in them. That is what they think get paid for.
Nope. You are wrong. You get paid to execute the strategy. How much time do you spend on that? How do you tie that to your own goals and strategies for your life in all of this? Do you have a life in all of this?
This is actually where the rubber hits the road for executives. Most fail to recognize this. You need to look at what you are expected to do and figure out how you do it and have a life.
It is not that difficult. Just not done too often. Here is my approach.
Sit down with a pen and paper not your PC. You need to think and doodle a bit.
Ask yourself what were you really proud of achieving last year?
On the work front and non work front what was great and downright awesome?
What did you really foul up last year?
Things that youd gladly never hear about again. Gotta be a few things
So if you look at those two lists, what can you learn from them?
From the good and the bad. Yes we often learn more from our failures than successes.
List those learnings.
Be proactive, stand up for myself, voice my opinions, keep quiet until I know all the facts, etc.
Write three of them as life lessons for the way you would like to be this coming year.
Be powerful, positive, in the present and very personal.
List three values you associate yourself with having
Decide what roles you have to participate in this year.
As in be a Board member, CEO, boss, friend, mom, dad, etc
Then which is your role of prime importance for the coming year
Write three goals for each role you selected. Or more
You should have about 25 of them.
Select your top ten
Write them as SMART as you can. Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time Specific (next year). This can be a topic of a whole article. Goals are usually very poorly written. Write yours up and e-mail me for some critique!
Put it all on a single page use abbreviations if necessary
Write up action plans for each. Set intermediate validation points and a time table. Check it weekly and monthly.
Go out and achieve personal; and corporate success
Sound intimidating? It should not be.
As Nike says “do it”
Graeme Nichol Arcturus Advisors (http://www.arcturusadvisors.com)works with business leaders and their teams to close the gap between great strategies and mediocre results. (Newsletter arcturusadvisor@aweber.com)
Recently, I found myself in an interesting discussion with my good friend and walking buddy. We first met years ago when both of us were starting our careers at IBM. As we reminisced about the “good old days”, we remembered some of our early mentors who showed us the ropes, provided us with knowledge and insights. Perhaps one of their greatest gifts to us was the Art of Encouragement. As we reflected on “then” and “now” what hit us between the eyes is how seldom people take time to encourage others today. It seems communication has become more efficient, but is it really effective?
In our virtual world of email, conference calls, blackberries and the plethora of other high tech tools, we have had to learn to juggle so many priorities at once. Who has time to spend encouraging a co-worker? And yet, how many of us are where we are today because of those who made the time to encourage us and mentor us along the way.
So, why does encouragement matter? What are the benefits of encouragement? I gave it some thought, and have listed here some of the key benefits for everyone involved.
BENEFITS TO THE “ENCOURAGEE”
* Builds self-confidence
* Creates an ally
* Provides feedback on what they are doing well
* Circumvents mistakes, wasted time
BENEFITS TO THE ENCOURAGER
* Strengthens the relationship
* Provides opportunity to “teach” others
* Creates an ally
* Expands one’s expertise by teaching/modeling for someone else
BENEFITS TO THE ORGANIZATION
* Strengthens succession planning
* Creates bench strength in emerging leaders
* Passes on “tribal knowledge” within organization
* Solidifies/deepens corporate culture
What benefits would you add to this list? Think of a person in your life who has encouraged you along the way. What kind of a difference have they made in your life? Have you taken the time to thank them? If not now, when? Send them a card, give them a call, or offer to take them to lunch. Let them know how much their encouragement has meant to you. I can guarantee it will make their day.
So, how do you go about encouraging someone else? Here are some keys to encouragement.
KEYS TO ENCOURAGEMENT
* Look for opportunities to encourage
* Give encouragement freely
* Be sincere and specific
* Find ways to make it easy
* Make it a habit
* Take the time
* Watch what happens!
Remember that you had many encouragers along your journey. Take time to do the same for others. Practice the Art of Encouragement.
Paula K. Switzer is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and contributing author on the subjects of leadership, team building and communication. Free audio mini-course. Other articles.
Today’s visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from “goodness” to “greatness” are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are who the world needs now.
Sadly many well-intentioned leaders, teachers and parents fail to grasp this distinction, and that failure costs them more than they know. Slowly they lose their power to effect real, lasting change in themselves, in others and in the world around them.
First grasping this distinction between goodness and greatness, and then making “the shift in one’s thoughts, words and actions elevates and expands one’s consciousness to a visionary level; thus giving one the power to effect lasting change.
ORIENTATION
So what’s the difference between goodness and greatness? First let’s make suggest some differences, and then we’ll look at an example.
Approach To Resolving Conflict With Others
- Goodness: The quality of compromising your highest inner guidance, especially when it conflicts with the prevailing moral standards or societal norms.
- Greatness: The quality of acting on your highest inner guidance, even when it conflicts with the prevailing moral standards or societal norms.
Approach To Resolving Conflict With Self
- Goodness: Compromising. The quality of compromising one’s higher values in the face of fear.
- Greatness: Standing. The quality of standing for one’s higher values in the face of fear.
Guidance Orientation
- Goodness: External. Value the esteem of others OVER esteem of self.
- Greatness: Internal. Value the esteem of self OVER esteem of others.
Inner Guidance Model
- Goodness: Position-based. Self = position = me.
- Greatness: Stand-based. Self = stand = i.
I-Orientation
- Goodness: Protect me (self as position) and risk i (self as stand) in reaction to fear.
- Greatness: Stand for i (self as stand) and risk me (self as position) in the face of any fear.
EXAMPLE:
Jon and Steve have just been hired as executives of ACME Co. They quickly learn that in their new company being a good executive means following the dictates of the CEO. Both Jon and Steve are hard workers who diligently carry out the orders of the boss. Jon, however is a graduate of an elite institution that included extensive character training. He’s been taught what it means to be a good leader and a good follower.
Both soon hear a vague rumor that their new boss and others are likely cooking the books and stealing from the shareholders. Neither one knows for sure, but they start to sense that it might very well be true. Jon thinks about prying, but would rather not know. If he doesn’t know, how can he possibly get in trouble? And questioning could get him fired. So Jon continues to work as usual, never asking too many questions, and dutifully carrying out his responsibilities.
When the CEO gets busted four months later, loyal Jon adamantly defends the character of his boss, confidently telling everyone that he never knew of any improprieties. He was right, and felt justified. He had stayed within the limits of the law, and within the limits of reasonable business ethics. On top of that, he knew inside that he was a good person and a good executive.
Steve, on the other hand, upon hearing the rumors, inquired into the rumor. Upon obtaining some more facts, he thought there was a good chance that his boss might be doing something unethical and illegal. He thought about confronting his boss, and saw that it might very well lead to his getting fired, or at least being ostracized and passed over for promotion. He felt fear, a lot of fear. He took a stand and faced his fear the next morning, as he confronted his boss. In their meeting it would have been easy for Steve to turn away after his boss eloquently explained his actions, but Steve persisted. He kept facing his fear, and asking the questions that needed to be asked. He was fired the next week for “poor performance.”
A KEY POINT:
There’s a huge yet subtle difference between goodness and greatness. We’re going to dive deep into discovering the power, the skill and the subtleties of greatness inside this course.
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
On paper, Jon looks like a good executive. Over the years he has kept his jobs longer and has proven to be a “good,” loyal team player. Yet with every choice to compromise his conscience in order to avoid fear and take the easy path to “success,” he loses power. He loses his power to trust himself, he loses the ability to hear the warnings of conscience and while he may win friends, he loses their trust in his leadership.
But it goes deeper than this. It doesn’t matter how much Jon tries to be a good executive, or become “successful.” The less he faces his fear, the less he can see the kind of vision that calls himself and others to greatness.
Steve on the other hand, builds his power with every choice to face his fear. With every choice, his vision, self trust and grip of reality strengthens. He is quickly becoming the kind of leader any team trusts implicitly. Steve lives “greatness.”
VISIONARY DYNAMIC:
The more you stand and face your fear, the more powerful your vision grows.
VISIONARY CHALLENGE:
What can you face in your life today that you’ve been avoiding? What feelings would you have to face to confront this issue or person head on? What would be worth standing for?
Journal about this until you are inspired to take that stand. Then take it, and journal about your experience. The more you see yourself taking stands like this, the more you see what?
VISIONARY TRAINING:
Anyone can muster the courage to face a tough situation now and again. It’s another thing to have facing be a way of life. What would it be like to not just live courageously, but to always be facing, always standing?
How can you take a stand such that you feel called from deep within? Where can you go to get conditioning in facing and standing–not from a place of sheer guts–but from a deep inner feeling of being called to be “the one?”
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.
Today’s parents, teachers and leaders who grasp this concept of “natural greatness” are raising visionary children. These young visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are whom the world needs now.
The person of greatness, who will act powerfully from his own highest inner guidance, is at once a danger to the powers that be… and exactly who he needs to be for himself, his family, and the world around him. The person of greatness holds the power to transform the world around her.
The person of goodness, on the other hand, will follow and obey the powers that be rather than listen to and act from his own highest inner guidance, and is thus a danger to us all. She does not hold the power to transform the world around her, and often makes it worse, all the while trying to maintain the illusion of her self-righteousness.
What separates the person of goodness from the person of greatness? In a word, we could say “conscience.” But that word is perhaps too common or simplistic. Further, most of us assume that we know what “conscience” is.
What is “conscience?”
Consider that the word, conscience, was invented to name a universal human dynamic. In other words, it was obvious that human beings everywhere have some sense of right and wrong, which influences our choices. And so we created a word to identify that phenomenon.
So please forget about its religious or spiritual connotations or explanations for the moment, and consider that conscience, regardless of its source, refers to something common to human beings. And let’s look at it again, as if for the first time.
Think of conscience as an inner compass that continually reminds us to look at our choices, and make sure our actions align with our values.
Human beings have a consciousness (or conscience) that works via ongoing signals to face reality (especially when there is incongruence), and to stand (especially when there is a threat to one’s values). Further explained below.
Conscience As (Part Of) A Natural Greatness Guidance System:
Conscience works to guide your thoughts and actions via subtle emotional cues. The subtle pleasurable emotions function as signals to go towards, and subtle painful emotions function as signals to go away from.
To Face or Not To Face?
Often in very subtle ways, your mind alerts you when there is a threat to your values, when there is something to face or be conscious of. When you consider not facing what your mind is signaling you to face, there is anxiety or even guilt. When you consider, instead, turning to face it, there is less anxiety as well as a feeling of honor. This pleasurable feeling of honor is a “call to face.” And the painful feelings of guilt or anxiety are a warning not to ignore the call.
Then once you choose to face whatever it was and you reflect on your choice, there is naturally a feeling of honor for doing so. This is a pleasurable feeling that brings a sense of peace, and acts as a reward for facing. When you choose not to face and reflect on your choice, there is naturally a painful feeling of guilt or shame, a painful feeling, which acts as punishment for not facing.
To Stand or Not To Stand?
Your mind not only calls you to face, it calls you to stand. Let’s say you face the fact that your rent is late. Your mind then calls you to action, or to “stand” for your financial security. When you consider not standing, you feel a sense of guilt on some level, as you are going against your values. This acts as a signal to stand. And when you consider standing for your values, there is naturally a sense of honor. This acts pleasurable feeling leads you or “calls you” to stand.
Then once you do choose to stand for you values, the feeling of honor is your natural reward. And choosing not to stand brings a feeling of guilt.
So, conscience 1a) calls you to face reality, 1b) warns you against not facing, 1c) rewards you for facing, 1d) pains you for not facing, 2a) calls you to stand, 2b) warns you against not standing for your values, 2c) rewards you for standing, and 2d) pains you for not standing. In summary, it leads you to live powerfully and courageously in line with your values in life by 1) continually looking honestly at reality, yourself and your values, and 2) continually act on behalf of your values even in the face of fear.
So what?
This is essentially a call to greatness, is it not? So then, could greatness be natural? Could it be that we each possess a natural greatness guidance system?
And if so, then why so much training to be good? And how does this goodness training interfere with our natural conscience, our call to greatness?
If you were threatened by your child’s, your student’s, your employee’s or your citizens independent conscience/consciousness… how could you train him or her to not follow his own conscience/consciousness?
Well, here’s one way:
1) Teach him that it is wrong to think and choose for himself, and then teach him what to think
2) Punish him for thinking or choosing differently than your commands
3) Reward him for blind obedience
In essence, tell him that to be good is to agree and obey with you, and train him to follow. Sooner or later, he will pay attention to your goodness guidance system rather than his greatness guidance system. Before thinking or acting, he will think first of what you say to do, and how he might be rewarded or punished.
Now… of course most of our adults, superiors, and authorities in this world simply want what’s best for us. As adults, we need to help our children learn to be good, upstanding, responsible citizens and successful people, right? We can’t just let them do whatever they want! Consider that as human beings in the early 21st century, we simply don’t yet know much about developing greatness in our children or ourselves.
Not only are we not taught how to develop greatness in our children, we are conditioned and taught to train our children to be “good.”
And, even when we sense that goodness training is killing the greatness or spirit in our youth, it simply seems more “practical” to train them to be “good.”
Think about it. If you need to get your school kids from classroom A to classroom B, it’s simply seems more efficient to tell them that walking in a single file line is good, and going their own way is not, and then reward/punish them based on their actions.
So, regardless of why we often train each other to be good rather than develop each other’s natural greatness, let’s face now the obvious problem at hand: our goodness training is interfering with our natural greatness!
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
A visionary (as we define it) operates via a vision that calls her to greatness. Think of vision as a multiplier of your conscience. Imagine… more than feeling called to be honest with yourself, and more than feeling called to stand for your values… Imagine seeing a vision that calls you to face anything and everything, and stand without compromise day in and day out… until the end! Imagine having the kind of vision that calls not just your self, but your team and even your adversaries to greatness!
That’s the power of tomorrow’s visionaries. The new breed of revolutionaries are all visionaries–people who call themselves AND the world around them to greatness.
VISIONARY DYNAMIC:
The more you face and stand, the more you will see the kind of vision that calls yourself and others to greatness. The more you see the kind of vision that calls you and others to greatness, the more you will face and stand. The more you face and stand, the more others will face and stand. The more others face and stand, the more still others will face and stand.
It’s not hard to see how one single person living as a visionary can literally change not just the world around him, but humanity itself.
VISIONARY CHALLANGE:
Ask yourself what kind of formal and informal goodness training you’ve had. Now… have you had training in greatness? What about vision? What would such training be worth to you and to your children?
VISIONARY TRAINING:
Beyond greatness training, there is visionary training.
Consider that as a human being you have all you need for greatness. Human consciousness works via calling us to 1) face, and 2) stand. You probably sense that to some extent you’ve been trained or conditioned to ignore or turn away from your own conscience and consciousness. And you probably have a good idea of how this negatively impacts your power in life and your sense of fulfillment in this world.
Well what if you were to experience your natural greatness guidance system in all its power? What if you were to live consciously and skillfully as a visionary? Is that even possible?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.
Today’s visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from a “position” to a “stand” are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us.
Most of the brightest leaders, entrepreneurs and change agents still fail to grasp this distinction. Many try to stand for a better world while operating from a righteous or egotistical position, and thus are quite powerless to effect lasting change. Real power comes from a stand, not a position.
First grasping this distinction and then making “the shift” elevates and expands one’s thinking or consciousness to a visionary level.
So what’s the difference between a position and a stand?
Generally, a position is a place to defend or attack from, an external fight against; whereas a stand is a foundation to build on or create from, an internal fight for.
On a psychological level, a position is a defensive reaction to protect oneself from negative judgment (it usually occurs after a compromise of one’s values).
A stand, on the other hand, is an action of honoring one’s values in the face of inner opposition (fear, doubt, etc.).
AN EXAMPLE:
Tim is an entrepreneur who has a dispute with Sam, General Manager of another company. Tim thinks he should receive a credit, because Sam’s company did not deliver the kind of service they had promised.
Picking up the phone to make a phone call to the GM was a scary proposition for Tim. Sam had already denied his first request for a discount, and reacted as if Tim was being cheap and unfair.
Tim wanted to stand for what he thought was right, and he didn’t want the conversation to turn ugly, but he was scared… and so he prepared for the confrontation, as most anyone would do by solidifying his position.
Tim solidified his position by forming his conclusions, judgments and solutions.
Conclusion: Sam’s service was not delivered as expected; therefore Tim does not owe the amount in the contract.
Judgment: It was unfair of Sam to not talk this through amicably with Tim. Sam is unethical, unfair and greedy.
Solution: Sam should credit Tim’s company $1,000. Anything less is unfair.
Armed with his position, Tim picked up the phone and called Sam. Although Tim was trying to sound nice and businesslike, Sam instantly picked up the defensive/aggressive tone in his voice.
Sam’s mind immediately formed its own position. He thought of all he’d done for Tim over the years. How could he be so ungrateful and cheap? You can bend over backward for a guy only so much. No more discounts or credits.
“Well you can call my lawyer then, Sam, because I’m not paying another dime until you credit me $1,000.”
“If that’s the way you want it, Tim. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” Click. Sam had hung up the phone.
“At least I didn’t let that guy overcharge us again,” Tim explained to his secretary. A guy’s got to take a stand once in a while. Otherwise people will walk all over you.
Thousands of dollars in lawyer bills later, Sam and Tim finally settled out of court for a $500 credit. To this day, their friendship is dead, they are both resentful, and their positions are stronger than ever.
Every time they reflect honestly on how they resolved the conflict, they feel guilt… and then their mind turns back to its position, and they feel a little more comfortable.
A KEY POINT:
We live in a Position world. It’s how we think, how we operate, how we resolve conflict. And it works miserably. Our next evolution as human beings is to learn to live from a stand.
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
A visionary operates in such a way that she inspires herself, her team and even her adversaries to greatness. She calls people to rise above their positions and align on shared values.
She can see through nearly any conflict, and has the confidence of a brazen, unstoppable entrepreneur. Hers is not a foolish arrogance or the brute force of will, but vision. The kind of vision that is uncommon to most of us.
She lives from a stand, and is called forward by the resulting vision to keep standing. She inspires not only herself, but the world around her to greatness.
VISIONARY DYNAMIC:
The more you come from a stand, the more even your adversaries are inspired by you. Rather than react to your position with their own position, they are inspired to stand as well.
VISIONARY CHALLENGE:
What is your position about a certain conflict in your life? Who is right and wrong, and why?
How is your position causing the continued building of your adversary’s position?
What might happen if you transformed your position into a stand?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. This article is derived from his free Visionary Mind Shiftscourse at VisionForce.com.
Today’s visionary leaders who are making this shift in thinking, from “positionary” to “visionary” are inspiring themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness. These visionaries have the power to create a world that works for all of us, and they are whom the world needs now.
Sadly many well-intentioned leaders and change agents fail to grasp this distinction, and that failure costs them more than they know. Slowly they lose their power to effect real, lasting change in themselves, in others and in the world around them.
First grasping this distinction between being a positionary and being a visionary, and then making “the shift” in one’s thoughts, words and actions elevates and expands one’s consciousness to a visionary level; thus giving one the power to effect lasting change.
ORIENTATION
Most people who take a stand only do it once they’ve built a pretty solid position to hide behind. They make the other side out to be evil, and then it’s easier to stand. These are the old school revolutionaries. Their hearts may often be in the right place, but they have little power to inspire lasting change. The new revolutionaries know that the real power lies in being a visionary. Learn the difference here.
Revolutionary - One who takes a stand in the face of the powers that be or the status quo.
Positionary - A revolutionary who tries to make a difference from a position.
Visionary - A revolutionary who sees the kind of vision that calls one’s self, one’s team and one’s adversaries to greatness.
AN EXAMPLE:
Jodi is passionate about the environment. She works for a green energy business, drives a gas-electric hybrid and recently joined a local environmental activist organization.
She attends her first meeting, passionate about the local debate about the controversy between big money commercial real estate developers and green activists who want to save the aquifer that they propose to build on.
She’s sure that she can get others in the community to see the threat that the developers pose to the environment, and can get them to support the cause. She’s also hopeful that the developers themselves might rethink their plans to build atop the aquifer.
At her first meeting, she proposes that the other activists join her in going to visit the developers in person and talk to them about shared values and creating a win-win solution… and everyone laughs. “Silly girl,” someone says, “These are capitalists! All they value is greed and destroying the environment. Those are their only values!”
Everyone joins in the laughter; some even roll their eyes at her idealistic naivety. Jodi fakes a smile, not sure what to think. But she knows she wants these people to like her. She feels conflicted. She really thinks that something could be resolved by communicating with the other side.
She makes some phone calls to the “Capitalist Pigs” and even goes to their offices in person. She wants to be the one to make a difference. But as soon as the developers learn what organization she’s with, they turn cold. They are short with her, and don’t seem to take her seriously.
This experience is tough for Jodi. Maybe those guys are just cold-hearted snakes. A few years past and before you know it, Jodi is talking like everyone else. She’s angry. She’s cynical. The other side just won’t change. And the system works against people like her.
A young woman, who took a stand and began to see a vision for real progress, has begun the typical devolution into a Positionary. She sees the new bright-eyed activists joining the organization, and laughs at their naivety. “They just don’t get it,” she thinks. She’s sad. She’s cynical… but at least she’s on the “right” side. At least she cares.
Then one day, a young activist stands up in the middle of a meeting, and proposes they change their approach. There is laughter and eye rolling. But this doesn’t stop the young woman. She is passionate, committed. She turns and looks at the people who are laughing and calls out to them. She’s shaking, she’s vulnerable, she’s so deeply committed to the cause… that everyone can’t help but listen.
“I can’t begin to know what it’s like to give your life to this cause, and to meet with so much disappointment and rejection. You guys are my heroes though. You’re still fighting. For years and years, you’ve been the only ones willing to take a stand for this beautiful city. You haven’t quit. You’re still here.
“Maybe the other side really can’t be talked to. Maybe they’ll laugh at us once again, mock us, and go right on with their plans. But I joined this organization, because I wanted to be surrounded by heroes, people who are unwilling to sit idly by and let things keep going downhill. We can’t afford to grow cynical. We can’t afford to believe that the other side will never change.”
This nameless young woman goes on. There’s something about her raw courage and authenticity that quiets the room, and has even the most cynical of the group beginning to hope again. Suddenly Jodi’s eyes are tearing up. She remembers a day when she still believed. What has happened to her?
A KEY POINT:
Positionaries are powerless to call themselves, their team or their adversaries to greatness. Visionaries, on the other hand, see the kind of vision that call themselves, their team and even their adversaries to greatness.
Yet even our heroes are usually models of being positionaries, rather than visionaries. If even our heroes can’t keep standing for everyone, how can we?
The positionary path is more comfortable, yet is a sure path to slow death. It’s a path paved by compromise. And compromise kills the human spirit.
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
Visionaries, whether “successful” in their cause or not, have the advantage of knowing deep inside that they are facing, standing and walking forward. The fulfillment they feel can’t be replaced by righteous judgments. Their power is authentic. They live true to their values and their vision. They can call the world around them to greatness.
VISIONARY CHALLENGE:
What have you become cynical about? Your marriage? The public school system? Politics? Life itself? What conclusions and judgments have you formed about the “other side” or people in general? These conclusions and judgments are part of your position. See how they let you off the hook from being “the one?”
What feelings would you have to risk or face in order to believe once again? What would be worth standing for? The more you see yourself standing for that, the more you see what?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.
Those who like to interact with different people and work towards the improvement of mankind in general, find the role of a business coach very satisfying and fulfilling. If you possess the right skills required to become an efficient coach, you can earn a name for yourself, even as you become a source of inspiration to others.
The very first benefit of being in this business is job satisfaction. Apart from the fact that this business pays well, there is also a sense of satisfaction that you are able to utilize your knowledge and skills to play a role that you really enjoy. Doing a job that interests you and helps you to achieve your goal helps to bring out the best in you. Work is no more a tedious task when you work at your convenience and enjoy the activities involved. You have the benefit of flexible working hours, to keep other appointments. In addition, you do not need to put in the average working hours, since you are able to earn more per hour than what average person does.
Another exciting aspect being of a business coach is that you get to interact with different people and this makes the job all the more interesting. A monotonous lifestyle and work very soon become repetitive and boring. However, if you are constantly interacting with different people, it makes your job interesting. Communicating with different people at different levels help to bring out the best in you and results in a profitable business. Meeting and teaching others is synonymous with the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. People appreciate your effort, to motivate them to succeed in their efforts. You get a chance to converse and share information with others, about things that are of interest to both.
One of the best rewards attached to coaching people is the sense of achievement and satisfaction derived from the exercise. The fact that your teaching can help them to solve their work related problems and improve their personal and professional lives is very motivating, for a coach.
Coaching is a fantastic tool for helping people to develop a sense of commitment and enhance personal performance. A coach not only shares useful advice, but also relates to the problems of people. A good coach needs to develop certain personality traits like being a good listener, having a calm and positive attitude and understanding the issue in question, from the other persons point of view. He should be able to develop and instill confidence in the person and should never display negative emotions, like anger or irritation.
With the help of the famous GROW (goal, reality, options and will) model of coaching, developed by John Whitmore, an efficient coach can arrive at practical solutions to the challenges faced. Being a business coach or consultant can be a very rewarding and worthwhile experience because not only are you able to execute your expertise and knowledge to solve the problems of people, but you are also responsible for empowering them, to climb the ladder of success, confidently. If you have the right skills and enjoy your work, you can be assured of a successful career in the coaching industry.
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Consider this…
Inside of goodness it’s inherently very difficult to be great. Very difficult. Greatness means being willing to risk the very thing goodness requires: the approval of those who say what is good and what is not.
Yet consider that greatness is inherently simple. It’s natural. It’s simply a matter of returning to you–to your natural conscience or consciousness–to your innate call to courageously face reality honestly and courageously act in line with your values.
What’s actually hard is being “good” in so many other people’s eyes–all the time. Everyone judges you by different standards, standards which can change at their whim. On top of that others’ perceptions of you are always limited and always changing. See how it’s hard to be good?
Now consider how your conscience or consciousness is continually reminding you not to ignore or compromise your values for others, and you can see how it can be harder to be “good, rather than great!
Yet we’re trained from birth in the art of being “good.” We’re trained at home, in school, at church, at work, etc., etc. We become so conditioned for goodness, that goodness becomes easy and greatness becomes difficult.
Greatness becomes extremely difficult, because we’ve been trained all of our lives not to think for ourselves and act courageously on our own thoughts. We’re trained instead to defer to others’ judgment and to follow their lead.
So when it comes time to stand for something in the face of authority’s or majority’s criticisms, we don’t want to be outcast. We don’t want to lose their estimation of us as a “good” person. So we choose goodness over greatness. And with every such choice, our spirit dies a little more.
Being true to yourself and living a heroic life doesn’t need to be a constant uphill battle. The more willing you are to let go of “goodness,” the more swiftly and naturally you can step back into greatness.
INTRODUCTION:
In a related article, we asked, “What separates the person of goodness from the person of greatness?” and we saw how the person of greatness is guided primarily by his own consciousness and conscience. The person of goodness on the other hand is primarily guided by others.
We also saw that being guided by conscience is quite natural, and thus greatness could be quite natural for human beings. So why then, we asked, do we receive so much goodness training?
There are plenty of good excuses for goodness training. Rather than concern ourselves with why it exists, let’s take a closer look at how it works, and what its affect is on our natural greatness.
Goodness training starts early. Most all of us have been taught what to believe, who to follow. We’ve been rewarded when we believe and obey, and punished when we question and disobey.
In fact, to be successful, goodness training must override one’s natural greatness. Let’s look at how this works. Natural Greatness is evident in the two functions of conscience, as discussed in the last session:
1. To lead us to FACE (self-honesty, courageous inquiry)
2. To lead us to STAND (courageous integrity)
Goodness training requires that we,
1. Look to the leader for guidance (rather than face)
2. Follow and obey (rather than stand)
ORIENTATION:
Highest Value:
Trained Goodness - Appear good in the eyes of others
Natural Greatness - Respect and honor in own eyes
Guidance Values:
Trained Goodness - 1. Blind faith (not looking for inner guidance, not questioning, not facing) OVER self-honesty/vision (looking for inner guidance, questioning, facing)
2. Blind obedience (being true to highest outer guidance) OVER integrity (being true to highest inner guidance)
Natural Greatness - 1. Self-honesty OVER blind faith
2. Conscious integrity OVER blind obedience
Conscience orientation:
Trained Goodness - Turn outward, away from conscience, towards a leader’s vision
Natural Greatness - Turn inward, towards conscience and towards own vision
Consequences:
Trained Goodness - Growing self-distrust, anxiety, self-doubt, dependence, disconnection from self
Natural Greatness - Growing self-trust, peace, confidence, inner power, connection with self
Reaction/Response to Consequences:
Trained Goodness - Seek more external guidance
Natural Greatness - Seek more internal guidance
Results:
Trained Goodness - Decreasingly powerful vision, awareness and grasp of reality
Natural Greatness - Increasingly powerful vision, awareness and grasp of reality
Caution: Goodness training often results in fearful minds. And fearful minds look first for agreement and disagreement, as if exploring new ideas is a matter of defend and attack. “I agree with this, but not with that.” Fearful minds react quickly to ideas that seem to conflict with their own. They run back to their position and hide behind the safety of the walls of their beliefs and judgments.
Great minds relate to conflicting ideas differently, and the result is ever-emerging wisdom and vision. So be conscious of how you explore.
And please remember to relate to the terms in this article, as defined in this article, rather than how you may define them. For example, if faith means something different to you, then understand that we’re not talking about that kind of faith.
Most disagreement and miscommunication in the world happens when we assume that someone else means the same thing we do when using a certain word, when he means another thing entirely. So, if there is disagreement, first look to understand the other person’s context or definition. There may be no disagreement at all.
And, rather than looking to see if you agree or disagree, look to assemble the new ideas into a puzzle you’ve not seen before.
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
Tomorrow’s visionaries will not be accidental or “born” visionaries. They will consciously guide themselves by new protocols that give them ever-expanding powers for guiding themselves with conscience, wisdom and vision.
VISIONARY DYNAMIC:
The more you face yourself and reality and look within for guidance, the more powerful your vision becomes.
VISIONARY CHALLENGE:
As much of a leader as you may be in many areas of your life, look for areas in which you doubt yourself. Who do you defer to? Whose guidance do you seek? What gives them more ability than you to know what’s so, or what’s best for you? How can you reverse the cycle of dependency, and put yourself on a course of looking within to build ever more wisdom, power and vision?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.
In todays rapidly changing world, we need visionaries. Visionary mothers, visionary educators, visionary leaders, visionary children–visionaries, period!
Many think of visionaries being those who have a special “gift” for thinking big, thinking creatively, etc. But consider that a visionary is simply someone who chooses to walk his or her own heroic path in life, inspired by his or her own vision. Most people do not choose the visionary path.
Many people focus on achieving “success”, “financial freedom” etc.; however this is easy to do without living a visionary life.
Many people also focus on “making a difference”, “leaving a legacy”, and “doing my small part” to “change the world”; yet this is easily done without living a visionary life.
Further, people focus on attaining “salvation”, “enlightenment” or “transformation”. Once again, pursuing these objectives is quite easily done without living a visionary life.
You can live a visionary life while pursuing any of the above objectives, however most people dare not tread in the realm where the visionary lives. The visionary life is anything but “easy”. Indeed, it is a road less traveled.
What we tend to do in life is seek noble goals, values and ideals, while staying safely within the realm of our psychological/intellectual position. We could say this is living a “positionary life”. Or living beneath the level of vision.
If this is so for you, then you’d be content with actions and solutions that compromise your highest values and ideals, and your path of conscious/spiritual/intellectual growth/evolution. You might not act like you like such actions and solutions, but you’d tolerate those actions in your life, as if there is no other practical alternative.
Thus, in various areas of your life you’d see 1) a great disparity between what you say you value and how you act, OR 2) that you’ve come to accept very low values, dreams and ideals OR 3) that you are not consciously evolving both your values and your actions to higher levels as you could be (more about this later).
Here is the kicker. Living beneath the level of vision, one can often not even see much evidence for 1, 2 or 3 above (Unbridled self-honesty is more accessible and prevalent at the level of vision). Thus we cannot see how much we cannot see, and so we think there’s not much that we don’t see.
Look around at the world today, and what do we see? People who are perfectly content with compromise solutions, as if we as human beings are not capable of rising to new levels where compromise is not necessary. As evidence of positionary thinking, I’d point to the acceptance of compromise as a valid, worthwhile and even noble approach in life, in marriage, in international relations, in politics, in business, etc.
Visionaries in general do not espouse compromise. Visionaries face what few do. Visionaries are more like warriors than dreamers, in that they walk the path, they face what there is to face, and as a result a vision that others cannot see emerges. In the same way that the man who does not climb the mountain cannot see what’s on the other side, those who do not walk a visionary path cannot see what the visionary can.
There is conversation in conscious communities about forming a campaign to recruit and train one million of today’s most conscious change agents in how to stand for all of humanity and lead the kind of visionary life that creates a world that works for everyone. It’s called the One Million Visionaries Campaign.
This initiative would bring the most advanced methods to those most ready to usher in a new era of consciousness for humanity. Those who are creating our future must have access to deeper levels of courage, compassion and vision–and the skills to inspire even their adversaries to stand with them.
Such initiatives and visionaries are what the world needs now. When it comes to creating our future, who will you be? What will you stand for? And will you have the strength to stand in a world so bitterly divided?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.
This is an invaluable distinction for the new revolutionary, the visionary, who is not focused on fighting over scarce resources, but looking to create the world she envisions.
ORIENTATION:
Compromise - 1. Giving up something important to gain something of higher value, yet feeling like you lost. 2. Choosing between two values in a way that wounds your spirit, drains your power and limits your vision. 3. Choosing from guilt, from fear or from a position.
Sacrifice - Giving up something important to gain something of higher value, and feeling like you won. 2. Choosing between two values in a way that breathes life into your spirit, builds your power and expands your vision. 3. Choosing from honor, from vision or from a stand.
EXAMPLE:
Greg, an American businessman, was repeatedly asked by his friend, Robyn, to donate money to her cause of helping to educate children in third world countries.
When he would say no, he’d feel a sense of guilt, and then mask it with excuses that helped him feel better. “I’m building a business and providing jobs to people,” he’d tell himself.
When he would say yes, he’d feel a sense of guilt or self-betrayal for spending money that he really wanted to invest in his business. “She’s my friend,” he’d tell himself.
Greg’s modus operandi was compromise. When he faced conflicts between his values, he’d compromise one way or another. He’d been taught all his life that you have to compromise in relationships. Compromise was preached as the way to succeed in marriage, politics and business relationships.
Yet, over time, Greg came to know himself on a subconscious level as a compromiser and a coward. Every time there was a threat to his values or his vision, he’d compromise his values and his vision. He’d never learned any other way.
Then one day, Greg registered himself in a high-level training event for visionaries. Inside that event, he came face to face with the compromises he’d been making all his life. He became present to the sense of quiet desperation he’d come to feel in life, the subtle suffering. At that event he took a stand for himself, his values and his vision. It was a simple, yet powerful action that had the affect of reawakening him to life.
At that event he came to know himself as he never had before, as he’d always wanted to know himself. For the first time in his life, he knew himself at a deep level, not as one who compromises in the face of conflict, but as one who stands.
And from the stands he began taking in his life, he came to see a vision worthy of his life, a vision that called him to continually stand from then on, day in and day out, for what was most important to him.
Compromise became the way of the past.
When Robyn approached Greg for money after his visionary training, she witnessed a new man. When he said, “No,” this time, he did it from a stand for his values and his vision. He said no in order to say yes to his business’ mission. His sense of honor was palpable and inspiring.
He sacrificed his value of contribution and what his friend thought of him for something greater in that moment: his business, his vision, his commitment to people in his life, etc.
Later, when Robyn approached Greg about a donating to a project that deeply inspired him, he said yes. Again, he said yes from a place of power. Robyn experienced Greg’s contribution as a true gift, a conscious choice that was honoring his value of contribution.
He sacrificed what he could have spent that money for a greater value to him in that moment: making a difference and supporting his friend.
Greg no longer compromised his soul, his spirit, his power or his vision when making choices. Sure, he would make the same choices, but he experienced his choices differently, in a way that did not compromise his spirit, his power, his honor or his vision. Instead he learned how sacrifice could honor his spirit, build his power and further his vision.
Greg’s growing power as a visionary who refused to compromise was evident to everyone in his life. They came to watch him, revere him and take note of what he was committed to. The way he lived his life, true to his values and his vision, inspired those around him to do the same.
LOOKING CLOSER:
In reaction to a world that pulls on us from all directions, we learn to consciously form a safe “position” for psychological protection. Throughout our life, people seek to get us to follow their values, and judge us when we don’t. So we form a position from which we’re protected from their judgments. For example, Greg could have formed a position that included a judgment about Robyn or people like Robyn. From that position, he wouldn’t have had to take her seriously.
Greg, however, prided himself in being a good, honest man who consciously tried not to live in judgment of others. He’d learned all his life that you shouldn’t judge, and you should compromise. Yet his policy of compromise little by little left him more and more powerless to achieve his values and his vision. Greg at first was “good,” yet his spirit suffered, because he fell short of greatness.
When Greg put himself through a high-level visionary training program, he learned that his greatest natural value was his vision force, or his conscious power to be continuously guided by his own vision, one that continually called him to greatness. His vision force was the value that gave him the power and strength to be true to all of his other values and to his vision. When he made compromise choices, his vision force was compromised.
VISIONARY ADVANTAGE:
Visionaries have the power to create a new world, a new reality–not by any fantastical means, but by natural, practical means. Creating the world you envision is not a matter of compromising; it’s not a matter of selling your soul. In fact, simple strategies for being, thinking, acting and as a visionary–strategies that do not include compromise–gives you untold power.
VISIONARY QUOTE:
“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark…. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.” -Ayn Rand
VISIONARY CHALLENGE:
Where does compromise show up in your life? In what circumstances do you feel compromise is necessary or justified? Are you open to looking for methods of resolving inner and outer conflicts that do not involve compromise? If so, maybe you are ready to be one of the great visionaries this world so desperately needs. You could be “the one” to take a stand and recreate your family, your community, your company, your country or humanity itself.
VISIONARY TRAINING:
It’s easy to see that positions are quite powerless. But where can we get training in taking a stand, and living from it? Where can we get the kind of training that would have us living daily as powerful visionaries in life?
As founder of the Vision Force Academy, Michael Skye works with a new breed of impassioned change agents around the world, who are giving their lives to stand for all of humanity. Michael is best known for his transformational leadership trainings, based on his proprietary iStand technology. He authored the the Visionary Mind Shifts for VisionForce.com.