Mentoring

Mentoring is only the willingness to help others succeed. For many months I've contemplated the meaning of mentoring in my life... And it comes down to this: A willingness to share, a desire to ask the questions that will lead those you mentor in the right direction.

There is a need for those who are willing to stand up and mentor. Do you see the need around you? I see it in the workplace, in the neighborhoods, in the family and perhaps mostly in government.

Assignment:
Seek out and help mentor someone. They may not even be asking for the help they need. But, if you see the need, step up and offer the friendly advice only you can offer to help make those around you better!

Acres of Diamonds

It would be sad to have died without knowing of the Acres of Diamonds at your feet!

Russell Cromwell, founder of Temple University, an accomplished orator shares a compelling story that never ceased to bewilder him. Why was it so often requested he often wondered? It was simply a story he experienced...

Find the Acres of Diamonds that are at you feet. If you have ever said or thought,
"The grass is always greener on the other side," this is a must read. It will give you a number of examples where people gave up untold joys only to chase a dream that they could never find.

Assignment:
Read the speech Acres of Diamonds by Russell Cromwell and see if you are overlooking something at your feet that you can't see because it is so familiar to you.

Do You Have An Attitude of Gratitude?

Attitude of Gratitude Your attitude sets the stage for your life. By looking around you and finding the things for which you are grateful, a positive attitude will grow within you. That positive attitude will affect everything you do. If you are positive, those around you will be more positive. Your days will be more exciting and your prospects will be greater. It is all up to you. To get ahead, you need to learn how to get along and help others.

For example, show that you are grateful for your job! Acknowledge the hard work you see in coworkers and customers. Recognize contributions to your team. Show how much you appreciate others with simple hand written thank you notes, a genuine “thank you,” a hand shake or a phone call.

The attitude you bring to work each day sets the mood for your day. I recently sat in a business’ waiting room and heard one of the employees battle with herself with her attitude. She would make a negative comment and them cover it with a more positive comment. This went on for an hour. With a little training, she would recognize her attitude and be able to keep it checked.

I consider this skill to be the most important skill to working with others., It should be practiced and reviewed regularly to make it a habit. It should become an asset. It all begins with your attitude and being grateful.

Assignment:
Answer These Questions 1. What are you grateful for? 2. How do you show gratitude? 3. Who do you show gratitude toward? 4. What have you done recently to thank a customer for coming in? 5. What positive comments have you made towards a co-worker in the past 7 days? Past 30 days? Past 90 days?

NOTE: This is taken from my report Top 10 Employee Essentials. They are as follows:
1. Attitude of Gratitude 6. Ask Engaging Questions
2. Service 7. Build Value
3. Eye Contact 8. Schmooze
4. Communicate 9. Adopt a Positive Attitude
5. Be a Good Listener 10. Never Gossip About Others

Last night I had the strangest dream...

Life is Cyclical

What do you think of idealist? Personally I like them, they offer me a perspective different from mine. They give me cause to think and wonder... and sometimes, when I'm lucky I can learn something from them.

Following is a folk song from the 50's-60's by the Kingston Trio:

"Last night I had the strangest dream I never dreamed before. I dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.

I dreamed I saw a mighty room and the room was filled with men
And the papers they were signing said they'd never fight again
And when the papers were all signed and a million copies made,
They all joined hands and bowed their heads and grateful prayers were raised
And the people in the streets below were dancing 'round and 'round
And guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the ground.

Last night I had the strangest dream I never dreamed before. I dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war."

Now this is very idealistic, an idea that is very foreign to our current generations. Thoughts like this will be popular once again in forty or fifty year as the saeculum starts anew.

My point today is that history is cyclical. Until we and our politicians know and understand it cyclical nature we will be destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors.

Assignment:
If you want a new perspective on your live and how to make change get the book The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe and you will learn about the cyclical nature or our lives. You will become a better person and make better choices if you learn what they have to teach us.

Always Push At The Doors Before You!

I learned a few things worth noting this week. Have you ever laughed then cried, and laughed then cried until you had a new perspective? Such was my experience as I sat at the feet of John Paul Murphy, a motivation speaker.

He talked of 1) Being real people - being ourselves, not trying to be something or someone we are not. He told of Brock Jacks who said, "Nobody can make me feel inferior without my permission." And "I, me, (insert your full name), am the very best (insert your full name) there has every been in existence." A powerful lesson everyone needs to learn if they want to make a difference in their life and the lives of others.

2) Strive to like all people. This includes yourself! If you can imagine people by their potential it will make it easier. One way to foster this is to catch 3 people each day doing something right! Then let them know about it and, this is important, let their boss or parent know about it. This will make changes like no other.

As my wife and I discuss raising our children we know that positive reinforcement is much stronger than negative reinforcement. Give positivity, see the positive in others. "No matter what your past has been you have a spotless future."

3) Set your goals high or Aim high and shoot for the stars - "All it takes is a little extra effort." Just a little extra effort is all it really takes. I used to see the doors before me as roadblocks, insurmountable mountains, until I learned how to talk myself through them. Wow! Now I am accomplishing so much more.

4) Thou shall not take yourself too seriously. This holds up back as much as anything in life. Keep your life simple so you can see and enjoy it, otherwise you will waste it and we won't benefit from you being among us. We need you and your influence for good as much as you need us.

Assignment:
Remember to always push at the doors before you. We are waiting to hear from you. And, if you look around, we need you more than ever.


NOTE: quotes from this entry are by or from John Paul Murphy's lecture.

Raise a family worth emulating!

John Lothropp stood as tall as he could and said, "If men of conscience surrender, we bequeath nothing to our children." This reminds me of the honor, love and loyalty children of fallen solders have for their lost parent. Though without that parent they are sustained by the knowledge that that parent gave all they had for a cause nobler that even their own live. Such children are sustained by Providence.

I can think of nothing more important to me that the phrase I recently read, "Raise a family worth emulating." Yet, I don't know if I know how to...

Until I do I will, 1. Be my own best everyday. 2. I will set an example of what I expect to become. 3. I will study and pray as if my life depends on it. And 4. I will share what I know.

Assignment: Consider what you feel to be the most important thing in your life. Consider how you can make it better. Then determine to put in the work it will take to make it better.

Quotes of Note

I got an email that Dr. Andrew Groft is coming to speak in an area near me. It got me to thinking about a speech he gave that influenced me deeply. It was the commencement address at George Wythe College in 2006 called A Renaissance of Kings.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Some from the speech and a few related. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

"The world is different from past times. We have access to greater libraries than the kings of Europe, and greater opportunities for education than the Greek Nobles of the Golden Age. I predict that we are in the beginnings of what will someday be known as a Renaissance of Kings (and you must understand that the original meaning of king meant a man and a woman who gave and protected life). Our virtue dictates that we were born to be kings and queens—not to rule over others, nor to be ruled by others, but to give life and to make life better by the use of our noble minds and hearts. We were born to be noble fathers and mothers who rear their princes to goodness, knowledge, leadership and action. Jesus said that he came not only that we might have life, but that we might have it more abundantly. Jesus understood because he is a King."
— A Renaissance of Kings by Dr. Andrew Groft
George Wythe College 2006 Commencement Address

“… a life of purpose may or may not yield enormous and iconic impact, but it will always lead to small and significant impact.”
— A Renaissance of Kings by Dr. Andrew Groft
George Wythe College 2006 Commencement Address

“The slaves in Rome were incapable of leisure and so their masters gave them entertainment to keep them pacified.”
—Oliver DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, p142

“…leisure means serving people, studying, learning, being involved in community service and government.”
—Oliver DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, p142

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
— Santayana

“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”
— David McCullough

“The more conscious we are of ourselves and of our nature the more capable we are of guiding and controlling that nature.”
— Stephen Palmer, GWC ‘06

“One of the most important lessons to be learned from any study of humanity is that every single one of us has the simultaneous potential for nobility and depravity, for divinity and degeneracy.”
— Stephen Palmer, GWC ‘06

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
— Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

“Today is the tomorrow I was so worried about yesterday.”
—Anthony Hopkins

"Dare to be yourself."
— Andre Gide

Pivotal Moments in Your Life.

Think of the pivotal moments of your life. Do you remember them as great learning moments?

I recently had two such moments. One started like any event. I was talking with a neighbor friend of mine. Sparked by something I said, he said, "I have a book you must read..." We discussed it for a moment and went our way.

Later than night he brought the book over to me and let me borrow it. It is called, What to Say When You Talk to Your Self, by Shad Helmstetter. By page 50 it had changed my life. I knew then that I had to get my own copy of this book.

It is a simple read, I read most if it in 7 or 8 sittings, but I found I didn't want to finish it until I got my own copy. This book became my friend.

Did you know that the average 18 year old hears "No!" or "Don't do that!" or "You can't do that!" 148,000 times. I was an especially bad youth, I think I heard such term more than 300,000 times.

Because of such negative influences in our life we become programmed to believe the negative over the positive. And these negatives shape our life. Mine wasn't shaping up to my expectations because of the negative self-talk I spoke to myself when I was alone.

Thankfully I read the book and my life has been so much better since. Thanks, Rhodes!

Assignment:
Evaluate what you say to yourself when you talk to yourself. If you are not encouraging yourself to accomplish everything you desire to accomplish please read the book. It could be the one simple thing you can do to make the changes you want to make but don't quite know how to make.

Good luck! It has given me a tool that I can use to make all the changes in my life that I have always wanted to make.

Reasons To Study History

Have you heard of the survey that said "high school students believed that History is the lease interesting subject taught in school and the most irrelevant!"

At first I was shocked, but remembering back to my high school experience I know why they say it. The way our society teaches history is the problem. First we use textbooks that teach history as a fact and a date. This is not history! This is programming!

History is who we are and why we are the way we are.1 Part of the problem with our disdain for history is because we have never been taught the joy of it.

It is difficult to teach the love of history if you don't love it yourself. This is true of everything in life. If you wish to teach your children, friends or family anything, learn to love it yourself. Only then can you inspire them to want to learn it too.

Never try to force learning on someone. That only teaches them "the hate of learning" and that only postpones their progress.

Here are a few reasons to learn more about history.

1. The Uncomfortable Mirror: Overcoming Self-Deception Through the Study of History An article from a student who graduated from George Wyth College in 2006
2. Our Best Hope For The Future An article from historian David McCullough
3. The Fourth Turning A must read book from historians William Strauss and Neil Howe

The older I get the more relevant history becomes. Maybe that is why high school students find it so irrelevant. They have no historical context to see the importance of history.

Assignment:
Spend some time in history. You will quickly discover that it is a great place to spend your time.

1 - David McCullough

Five Levels of Self-Talk

Have you ever read about Self-Talk? I was fascinated when I did. Heres what I learned.

1. Negative Acceptance
These are items you tell yourself that are negative reinforcements or negative beliefs about yourself. These are the "I can't..." or "If only..." or "I wish I could..., but..."

These are those things you should avoid at all costs!

2. Recognition and Need to Change
These are the "I need to..." or "I ought to..." or "I should..." These statements always end up with the subconscious "but I'm not going to do anything about it."

3. Decision to Change
Here you recognize the need to changes and begin to do something about it. These statements go like this; "I never..." or "I no longer..." Here you rephrase the old phrases "can't with a positive.

4. The Better You
These are the "I am..." phrases that facilitate change. Really the way you want to be. Here you say "I have a..." "I will..." "I do..."

5. Universal Affirmation
This level is considered "oneness" with God. Like a Buddhists monk.

When I realized that I was spending more time in level one and level two when I was alone I wanted to change but didn't know how until I read Shad Helmstetters book What to Say When You Talk to Yourself where I learned the above. I am more positive and more productive because of what I learned and changes within myself.

Assignment:
Take some time to look deeply into your soul. If you need a mental boost from yourself get and read this book. If you don't take some time out of your busy day and help someone learn how to better themselves. They need it and chances are you do to.



NOTE: the above info came from Shad Helmstetters book What to Say When You Talk to Yourself