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by Rick Baker
On Oct 6, 2011
Now, I know the famous composer Richard Wagner said, “Joy is not in things; it is in us”.
However, at least from time to time…
When we want things and don’t get them we are disappointed. When we do ‘hard work’ and the results fall short we are disappointed. When we want things and we get them we are, at least, momentarily satisfied or happy. When we do ‘hard work’ and achieve desired results we feel satisfied or happy. When it comes to work…some of our desires are positive, normal, and healthy in nature and some of our desires are not.
According to Eckhart Tolle, all negative desires represent frustrations of positive desires inspired by defeat, failure, and neglect. I’m still thinking on that cause-and-effect way of looking at desires. Sometimes, when we ‘work hard’ and are defeated we wind down a bit...and the work starts to taste sour. Sometimes when we ‘work hard’ and people don’t notice we wind down a bit...and the work tastes sour. Perhaps, after more defeats and more neglect the taste gets so sour we give up. And our attitude towards life sours. Perhaps, that’s how positive intent ends up becoming negative attitude, the breeding ground for negative desires.
Regardless of where joy is and how desires become desires there is a piece of ancient wisdom we should keep at the front of our thinking. This wisdom has been described in writing for well over 2000 years.
This ancient wisdom is the key to ensuring our work does not put sour tastes in our mouths.
There are numerous quotes, capturing this wisdom.
I particularly like this one, from ‘The Old Lion’, Theodore Roosevelt:
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
I bet most people want to work hard at work worth doing…to ‘make a difference’.
If we put our minds and hearts to it then we can create their chance to do just that.
Footnotes
- A Wagner quote, “I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired”.
- Like Napoleon Hill, Alexander Graham Bell, Richard Wagner, and many others before him, Eckhart Tolle teaches thoughts are vibrations. Tolle says negative thoughts have shorter wavelengths than positive thoughts. He talks about the hypnotic rhythm.
by Rick Baker
On Sep 28, 2011
Did you know some people are born with a special quality that makes it easy for them to inspire and lead other people?
Some experts describe it as a natural talent to self-monitor and self-regulate.
This self-monitoring is so natural and so real, without effort, it magnetizes and attracts other people.
It causes other people to be motivated to take action.
It inspires other people.
Many experts say Napoleon Bonaparte had this natural talent.
I have read the singer Lionel Richie has this gift.
The gift is rare.
Few are born with this natural gift.
So, most of us must learn how to inspire other people…and the process begins with self-monitoring.
by Rick Baker
On Sep 20, 2011
I have read enough and thought about it enough to believe some people are born with magnetic personalities.
Maybe it’s a matter of chemistry.
Or, maybe charisma is a good-enough way to describe it?
Or, as some suggest, maybe it’s about a natural gift known as self-monitoring…like an empathy that both gives and takes without trying or injuring.
Regardless of how we define it - these people are real, unpretentious.
These people are magnetic in the literal sense of the word.
When these people walk in a room the room’s atmosphere is uplifted.
[Years ago, I was fortunate to have a mentor who possessed this natural presence.]
I see people who strike me as being gifted in the manner I am describing.
The actor John Wayne is a striking example. My son, Frank, just loves John Wayne…and I do too. I knew about John Wayne before he died…I had watched some of his movies when I was very young. My favourite cousin was named ‘John Wayne’…my uncle and aunt and many in their generation named baby boys after the screen hero. I knew all of this. Yet, I did not know about ‘the man’ John Wayne until recently. My son and I have watched many of his movies. We have watched You Tube clips of the great actor, being interviewed, and speaking after he won the Best-Actor Oscar. The more I watched the man, the more I was captured by his natural magnetism….his larger-than-life personality on screen was ‘real’. If there was any doubt about that then it was removed when I listened to other actors, like Harry Carey Jr., talk about their experiences with ‘The Duke’….sheer admiration!
John Wayne is one of my heroes.
by Rick Baker
On Aug 30, 2011
Abraham Lincoln said,
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.
And, as you already know, it is much harder to build up people and build up business than it is to chop down a tree.
Eventually, Lincoln became skilled at both chopping down trees and leading people. The history books are not clear on whether or not chopping down trees came easy to Lincoln. On the other hand, there has been much written about the people challenges Lincoln experienced during the early part of his unusual career. Lincoln fought some bitter public battles, embarrassed himself, and experienced some bitter lessons before he learned how to develop strong interpersonal and leadership abilities.
I imagine Abe Lincoln, sitting with his back rested against a tree on a hot summer day. The sun is beating down, the leaves are rustling under just a little breeze, and the insects are humming.
I see Abe chewing on a piece of straw.
That tall hat of his is tilted down at the front, almost resting on his nose.
Abe is thinking to himself:
- These interpersonal things have caused such problems for me
- Maybe I should plan my dealing with people, like I plan chopping down trees?
- Say I have 6 hours to spend on a person-to-person interaction…
- Should I spend no time planning up front and 6 hours with the people?
- Should I spend 2 hours planning then 4 hours with the people?
- Should I spend 4 hours up front planning then 2 hours with the people?
- I think I will spend 4 hours planning up front then 2 hours with the people
- Hold on…I just thought of a tree-axing metaphor I can use to explain why I do things that way
When Abe Lincoln did hone his people skills he was as prepared as any leader could be. His preparation served him and his countrymen well.
Abe Lincoln is one of my heroes.
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Tags:
Hero Worship
by Rick Baker
On Aug 24, 2011
Some successful leaders favour a fun, kind, and calm work environment.
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:
“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done”.
Some successful leaders favour a serious, hard-driving, and formal work environment. Henry Ford comes to mind. Some claim Henry Ford fired people for smiling during working hours.
The important thing: your work environment must align with your personal values and your personality. Otherwise, sooner or later, you will lose patience and enthusiasm. With the loss of patience and enthusiasm…it will be tough to enjoy your work. In simple words: you will feel bad about work. That will remove the possibility of major business success. To make matters worse, it will cause dysfunction to grow and spread. Stresses will erupt. Attitudes and behaviours will become troubling, quite uncomfortable, and possibly even vicious.
You want none of these things.
Right!
You want your people to co-operate with one another and get along.
Right!
You want to enjoy your workday.
Right!
So, what do you need to do to bring that about and make sure it remains?
Let’s start with a seek simple thought: people only have two types of emotions/feelings.
- Some emotions cause people to feel good
- Some emotions cause people to feel bad
Yes, some emotions such as utter bliss or supreme joy make us feel much better than other emotions such as mildly amused and pleased. Similarly, feeling enraged is more extreme than feeling impatient or annoyed.
You can make your interpersonal activities simpler and more effective if you can accurately identify good feelings from bad feelings. That’s an achievement. For the most part, it doesn’t matter how extreme the feelings are. It is the direction of the feelings that counts the most. Are they ‘good’ or ‘bad’?
Let’s be honest about our ability to read other people’s feelings.
When it comes to understanding other people’s feelings many of us are not very skilled. We struggle with understanding our own feelings let alone understanding other people’s feelings.
So let’s start by looking at feelings only 2 ways: feelings are either (1) Good or (2) Bad.
by Rick Baker
On Aug 17, 2011
Business is about people, process, and situations. People create the process and people create most of the situations.
So, when you boil it down business is about people.
We all know that.
And, we all forget it…at least from time to time each of us forgets it.
When it comes to people, each of us has some home-made putty to deal with: we can start with self. How can we expect to have any success leading other people if we cannot develop skill at leading self?
Napoleon Bonaparte had it right when he said, “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self”. When we understand self we have a chance to guide self to better places. When we understand self we have a chance to increase our good habits and reduce our bad habits. When we understand self we have confidence and we are better-able to tackle new things.
This is what Napoleon taught when he said, “conquer self”.
Conquering self…
Only after we have worked at that and had some success at that can we have the chance to guide other people to better places.
This business of understanding and conquering self cannot be left to chance or to best intentions. It requires forethought and focussed action.
That’s the business Leader's responsibility!
That’s the essence of leadership!
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