Leading Beyond Recognition

          
Our work has value beyond our desire for recognition. Its worth is innate when we take time to do our best amid the rush of life. This alone gives it merit though we've yet to merit others regard. Conceiving our work so deceives many of us because the desire for recognition bewitches. It also robs us of the joy of creation.

 Beyond Recognition

           Thus, we are routinely moody about things that are ultimately beyond our control. Paradoxically, a desire for praise empowers and impoverishes together because we can't garner it, enough at least to ease our angst. If we aren’t careful, we will devalue our work when we are ignored. Acknowledged, however, we are ignited. Conquering this conundrum requires us to affirm our work (and worth) without recognition. Only in doing so can we overcome custom.

 Beyond Custom

           We are conditioned by custom to view recognition as proof of merit. Discouraged by clicks, how often do we exist in professional purgatory because others ignore our work and its worth? How often do we consider quitting because we aren't getting the hits we imagine, which we use to establish a pattern of success?

 Passion Beyond Patterns

           These patterns matter but they shouldn't maim when they are missing from our lives. During these times, we must affirm emphatically the worth of our work. We must also reject the portrait of persecuted genius --the kind common to artists. Rather than being insulted by others indifference, we should work without regard for the regard we’ve yet to gain, convinced that our work has merit though we aren't raved and recognized.

Awaiting Dawn

     Most of us work for days waiting for dawn to wave its wand over our lives.

When it does, however, its seldom what we envision the way we envision it.

On the contrary, dawn often sends darkness to help us develop our greatness.

Yet, in expecting light we routinely sleight ourselves, others also.

In fact so much of what we envision opposes the mission for which we were born. Hence our tendency to feel cheated and shorn of opportunities that come freely to others.

Even so, dawn has a reason and we have a mission. In discovering this, we turn darkness into greatness instead!

EASY

 

It’s easy to be easy on ourselves. But with each stroke we forfeit our hopes and break our hearts, diminishing also our flame and spark. Those who excel give themselves hell, metaphorically speaking, lest they be content with average. Their idea of easy makes it hard for them to stroke themselves. They aren’t reckless but they are relentless.

 

PAUSE, CAN YOU?

 

 

Sometimes we must pause, retracting the claws we use to climb towards success, embracing the moment without design or distress. Otherwise we will continue to be anxious and thankless, annoyed daily and hard unnecessarily on ourselves. Unfortunately, however, most of us confuse pausing with passivity.

So we work without rest thinking that doing so will help us to accomplish our goals faster. Yet this logic is toxic, personally, emotionally and relationally, leaving our spouses to wonder and our children to watch as we work ourselves out of meaningful relationships with them because of an undisciplined desire to provide for them.

Moreover, in refusing to pause we forfeit the power of renewal, which would help us achieve our goals by giving us greater clarity and more energy for our tasks. Yet we choose to labor beleaguered by fatigue because of some misguided notion of self-determination. It’s okay to be determined, driven, even, but neither annuls the need to be renewed, to pause and reflect rather than to push and act indefinitely (often detrimentally).

In this regard, pausing isn’t passivity, complacency or indifference. It simply means that we recognize the need to suspend our efforts without accusing ourselves of abandoning them. Besides, we won’t arrive any faster than we do no matter how we construe our efforts. So, relax, reflect and let time do what only it can. Your loved ones will be glad you did!

 

THE END!

 

Though most of us won’t admit it, we are secretly inhibited (and anxious) about our end, desiring to know when it will end. Maybe that’s why we lose ourselves setting goals and courting greatness. Beyond the natural need to nurture our time and talents, we also do so to help maintain our balance, which is more elusive than we admit.

Even so, we are deeply concerned about our end; not, however, simply about the outcome of our efforts but more so about what happens when life has left us. This concern inspired existentialism, fatalism and every other historical ism. It also inspired the wisdom of the sages as revealed through the ages. A sense of mortality instinctively produces such when we allow it to touch us in ways we routinely deny and ignore.

Then we ask ourselves, “What am I doing this for?” Though rhetorical, this question is also rewarding because it forces us to fix our gaze beyond the ways we devise to achieve our goals and the privileges we hope to gain when we succeed. Thus, some people pursue religion for answers; others pursue pleasure instead, seeking to silence the interrogations that inspired Kierkegaard’s dread.

Even so, we want to know about our end, when it will end. Some of us may even want to know how and where it will end. To deny this inquiry as natural is to make detachment inevitable. How can we rightly relate to others when we are indifferent to ourselves about what matters most? In fact the quality of our lives is determined by the degree to which we have embraced our mortality.

Unfortunately, some people become ruthless and aimless in response. Others become ambitious and obsessed. Yet no goal or gain can censor mortality whether or not we respond. The time will come when we will be disarmed and must answer or perhaps ask, as did the Psalmist, “O’ Lord, help me to understand my mortality and the brevity of my live! Let me realize how quickly it will end.” (39:4)

Unlike many of us, William Shakespeare refused to ignore or deny the sovereignty of mortality. In fact he confessed, perhaps as an antidote, “I have immortal longings in me.” Maybe Shakespeare’s willingness to confront his mortality immortalized his writings. Maybe that’s why he was able to embed creatively what he couldn’t embody existentially. Maybe our work would be more enduring if we weren’t in denial about our mortality. Maybe we could increase our force if it were rightly faced.

Aptly embraced, legacies and legends result, depending upon our influence. But even if we never achieve this status, our lives will be more authentic because we confronted our mortality. Maybe facing it would make us more cheerful and charitable also. If we understood just how quickly our lives do end, no matter how long we live, maybe we would be the difference that makes the difference in the lives of others before nature pulls the covers.

 

CLOSE...

 

Things get easier as we keep aiming towards our goals. It may not seem like it because we aren't always as clear as we imagine on what these are. We generally have more ideas than we do exacts. Ideas get us started but exacts keep us going (and committed). They also enable us to accelerate our pace, and to recognize our place when we reach it.

Consider, for example, driving to a destination, maybe even somewhere you've been before but you aren't exactly sure of where it is. You have a general idea instead, enough to convince you to get in your car and drive. After a while you find yourself in the vicinity but not at your destiny (destination).

Thus, you may feel anxious or excited or even annoyed because you know you are close. You even have a strong idea of where you are but you aren’t where you want to be. Hence the importance of clarity, whether in driving cars or pursuing goals. Here we see clearly the difference between exacts and ideas. Our success is routinely determined by our degree of clarity regarding our goals and dreams. Without clarity we occupy the vicinity but don't reach the destiny we desire.

Today, so many people are vexed by vagueness and victims of the indefinite. They lack the ability to say clearly what they want. Of course this doesn’t mean that they can’t succeed because they can. In fact, sometimes in being too precise we miss opportunities when they emerge because we lack the urge to pursue them, especially if they contradict our conceptions.

Generally, however, clarity is a prerequisite for success. We must be able to express clearly what we desire deeply. In this regard, failure to achieve is often a failure of clarity. Clarity is the ability to express clearly our goals without being clouded or constrained by contingencies. If we can’t express this to ourselves, we will have trouble expressing it to others also, which will hinder their ability to help us.

That’s why it’s important to take time to ask ourselves, “What am I really after; what are my true goals.” Answering this anchors us in our pursuits. It also increases our confidence and changes how others experience us. Clarity enables us to be decisive and assertive rather than tentative and timid. Consider again how we drive when we aren’t sure of where we are or where we are going. In these instances, having an idea isn’t the same as having an exact, practically or emotionally.

Clarity, however, isn’t something we get once and for all. On the contrary, it accrues over time as we take time to assess where we are and what we want. Otherwise we will get in the vicinity without reaching our destiny as we desire.

 

 

 

GETTING TO YES!

A book entitled, Getting to Yes, appeared several years ago. It focused on the art and science of negotiation, and how to make beneficial compromises as we each pursue our peculiar aims. As used in this article, however, getting to yes implies mastering the steps needed to experience the greatness deeded in your soul. Once you do this, you experience the bliss of an unmuffled yes! As simple as it sounds, to get to yes you must first say YES to yourself and your dreams.

So many people are wedged between no and maybe instead. They lack the certainty that characterizes destiny. Destiny is the belief that your yes is your right to succeed and not just a wish to do so. If, however, you haven’t said yes to yourself and your dreams, uncertainty will stifle and you will stumble in getting started and in staying committed till the end. The way you get to yes is to not second-guess yourself or your right to success. This is much different from second-guessing your methods, your means and your maneuvers.

Unless you are omniscient you must change these routinely, sometimes remarkably, for various reasons. Second-guessing as it relates to tactics and strategy are part of the anatomy of greatness. It becomes detrimental, however, when you second-guess yourself. Hence the need to examine your assessments and assumptions, making sure you get to yes and stay there as it relates to your belief in your right to success and greatness. The key is in being decisive and convinced without bowing to contingents.

Things will happen, plans will fail and people will change their minds about you. You, however, shouldn’t change your mind about yourself. Once you get to yes by agreeing with yourself, stay there! Whenever you find yourself feeling anxious and uncertain, don’t let these feelings push you into no and maybe regarding your dreams. Second-guess your tactics and strategy when necessary but not your right to and belief in your ability to achieve your dreams. In doing so, you make better and more beneficial compromises with other and yourself.

 

3 STEPS TO LIVING A LIFE OF GREATNESS

     All of us are fascinated by greatness whatever its form, sports, entertainment and even gardening! We love to see people doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. We feel likewise when seeing extraordinary things being done in extraordinary ways. Something about the sight stirs our senses and provokes remembrances of when we entertained visions of our own greatness.  The good news is that you still have time to design a life of greatness if you are willing. You might not be able to achieve that NBA dream but you can do something that will pique your passion so that you can stop rehashing what might have been.

     The first step to living a life of greatness is to simply DECIDE that this is what you are going to do. Simple as it sounds, many people haven’t decided to live a life of greatness. They talk about it and are enamored by it but they never decide to commit to its pursuit. Characteristically, they are great fans but poorly focused when it comes to their dreams. The problem, however, isn’t a lack of focus but rather indecision. Once you decide, focus comes; plans form and magic follows provided you stay committed. Do it now and you will see how things change.

     The second step to living a life of greatness is DESIGN. You have to design what greatness looks like for you, not what someone else designs for you. Design is the art of greatness which, by the way, is just as important as the science. The great thing about design is that it’s so liberating. In fact design allows you to reflect (and promote) your quirks and your competencies –your unique lifestyle-- which becomes a life-statement of who you are. So, it’s okay to collect ideas, just as you would when furnishing a house or accessorizing your home.  But ultimately you must decide what your design will include, no matter how eccentric. Ignore naysayers because everything is impossible until it's done!

The final step to living a life of greatness is to DARE. You must dare to believe that your dreams of greatness are not only possible but that you are responsible for their fulfillment. This doesn’t mean that you have to stress but you should strive daily for success. Daring, moreover, shouldn’t be draining but charming instead because you never know what will happen as you go forward. That’s what makes life exciting! That’s what makes greatness fascinating. That’s why each of us pauses whenever greatness appears from some unlikely place. These achievers, DECIDED, DESIGNED and DARED to live a life of greatness. You can too; decide today to commit your way to living a life of greatness.

 

BE PASSIONATELY PATIENT AS YOU ARE MAKING IT HAPPENI

THE WINNER'S WAY

 

Courage is never given except in a crisis. Otherwise it's unnecesary.

People admire courage but despise crisis. They want to be accomplished but hate to be challenged. Most of them don't understand the law of opposites. So, they think that courage and acclaim are coincidental. But those with both understand their essence. They also grasp the importance of paradox. Thus, while the whimsical wonder what it's like to win, winners lose until they win. They aren't broken by defeats or conquered by crowns because they realize that both are fleeting. They also understand that loss isn't lessened by regret. Neither is victory sweeter by being over-blown. From without, however, the imagination always embellishes.

CULTIVATING GREATNESS

 

 

When companies close our eyes are opened to understand that our destiny is our responsibility.

     People get fired but problems don't get fixed. The problem isn't with the people but with a culture that is corrupt and corrosive. In this culture average consumes. People do their jobs but not their best. After awhile, crises reveals weakness. People are then layed off or fired in an effort to counter. Companies pursue this course daily, as if dismissing people will help them to recover. It's foolish, however, for them to indulge average over time and then demand greatness over-night.

     People seldom change that fast. Even if they did space must be allotted to defray the effects of average. The market must also have time to adjust. Meanwhile employees will suffer because management didn't demand excellence from the outset. Such is the cycle in the contemporary world of work. If workers don't demand greatness of themselves, managment will. By then, however, money is tight and crises imminent. Then firings are proposed and lay-offs are certain. Unfortunately, this is the only way some companies know how to manage average. Doing so doesn't fix the problem but it does reveal the plight facing today's workforce.

THE FEW

The road to succes is narrow and long

Many begin the journey but few press on,

Along its paths are many who have fallen

Whose goal slipped away along with their calling.

 

Yet for those small few who are willing to plod

Who believe in the dream because they believe in God,

Those who will persist when the outcome appears bleak,

Remaining calm even amid adversity's heat,

These are they who are destined to reach

Life's highest mountain and scale its peak.

If we don't fulfill our promise we owe others an apology.

        If we thought the impossible were so, life would cease. Yet none of us believes in the impossible.  We acknowledge it but we don’t believe in it. To believe in the impossible is to reject our passion. Yet our passion stirs us nightly and sustains us daily. The moment we believe in the impossible life passes. Only by rejecting its myth do we master.

TORN AND TENDER

Paydirt is payback for all the put-downs we endured.

There is a height that invites us to visit. Few, however, are inquisitive. So, they buy postcards and postpone the journey, surrendering to reason's tyranny. Then when others emerge who followed the urge they are the first to cry, "How do these fly!" Yet if how knew the flight's view would be all too common. It isn't, however, because most people ignore the summons. (http://www.joelbryant1.com)

EXPOSED

Only the exposed can expound the excellence of greatness.

Exposure is crucial to success. Some people never succeed because of being sheltered. Often, average isn't the result of inadequate talent or even timidity. On the contrary, all of us are talented and most of us are determined. But many of us lack goals definite and endearing, the kind that self-compel. So we read carelesly and wander casually, doing little to enlarge our lives. Hence, no goals. We have no great thing to do.

By the time we do find something compelling to accomplish indifference devours. Thus, we muse but aren't mandated. We can do without it because we haven't been done adequately from within. Yet success requires exposure, and exposure requires involvement. True exposure means seething, soaking in the object to understand its quality. Otherwise we will live and die discretely, though having lived isn't enough. Life demands a commitment to excellence, moral or otherwise. Only mutants shun mastery.

THE ANATOMY OF GREATNESS (IV)

Some go for it; others yearn for it, yet both hunger.

Anything may not be possible, but more things are possible than we imagine if only we will imagine them fully and seek them daily. For instance, I was unemployed in the early 90's. So, instead of seeking work I decided to create it for myself, which is what real dreamers do daily. My background was in telephone sales, more commonly called, cursed perhaps, as telemarketing. I decided to use this experience to help Greensboro car dealers sell more cars.

After spending a week at the library creating sales literature, I searched the phone book for prospects. My approach was empirical and sophisticated. I used their name as the nexus. If it nudged, I called it. My plan was to take their old customer files --five years or older-- and invite them to test drive the latest model of their previous purchase. We would give them a cheap gift and lavish praise for their opinion. The idea being that dissatisfaction would settle the instant they sat.

Two weeks later I had my first appointment with Bob Dunn Ford. Since I didn't have a car myself, at least one that ran, I borrowed a friend's. After an hour of talking with Mr. Dunn, I left his office with a $3000 check with another $3000 due 90 days later. (I didn't even have an account to deposit the money). Looking back, it seems crazy because he never requested references, identification or anything else substantiating. Maybe my enthusiasm sufficed. Or maybe he was as desperate for change as I was.

Whatever the reason it worked. I also hired two ladies from my church to do the calling, convincing him to pay them from his payroll, which he gladly did. He also provided office space. Meanwhile I busied myself with securing another contract, going by weekly to check on them and to meet with him. I drove a different car each time because I had to use whose ever was available. I'm sure his staff thought I had money. That's how they looked whenever I entered the lot.

Yet I was just spending the social capital I had accrued. Things would have soared if it weren't for Desert Storm, which started shortly after the project. Still, at the end of 90 days Mr. Dunn was pleased with our results though uninterested in renewing our agreement. In fact he furnished a remarkable letter of reference that I used in pursuing other projects. I didn't get one but I did get through what would have been an even tougher time otherwise.

FORTITUDE

Fortitude is faith with a goal.

If I would have "thought through" my decision to leave work, I would have never made it. If I had counted the cost, I would have never made the purchase and honored my passion. If I would have let fear frighten and need drive, I would still be drowning. But the office became too offensive for me to endure; so I left without regretting the decision. Others may have but I haven't.