Your Dream is One Decision Away: Determination

In my last blog post we talked about the first "D" of a Dream: Desire.  Today lets's look at the second "D": Determination.

Determination

Determination is resolve, willpower, strength of character, single-mindedness, purposefulness, and intentness.  Someone who practices determination has integrity.  He says yes when he means yes and no when he means no.[i]  He follows through on his commitments regardless of his feelings or the circumstance.  That’s "strength of character." 

He is focused on and works toward his goals that will move him toward his Dream.  He does not get distracted or drawn away from his Dream.  He doesn’t let his critics sideline him.  He focuses on the race ahead as if to win it[ii] and doesn’t stop to address those in the stands criticizing because he knows who he is, where he is, when he is, and why he is.  That’s single-mindedness, purposefulness, intentness, willpower, and resolve.

Teddy Roosevelt captured Determination best:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.[iii]

Commit.  Employ Determination.  Choose a definite goal, moving you closer to your Dream.  Invest all of you: mind, body, heart, and soul.  When you commit, all heaven breaks loose; it just looks and feels like hell for a while.

Stay committed, and keep moving.  Yes, achieving your Dream will be difficult.  You will encounter Obstacle-Opportunities and struggles, but when you are struggling to live your Dream, your Desire to see your Dream come true can fuel your commitment.

Remember the caterpillar from the blog entry on July 11, 2018: Transformation:  What do You Intend? (https://discoveringyourgreatness.blogspot.com/2018/07/transformation-what-do-you-intend.html)?  It must knit its own cocoon and struggle to emerge.  The struggle is integral to its transformation.  Like the caterpillar, we embrace struggle and learn and grow.  Obstacles do not define us.  They REFINE us.  We keep our Dreams before us, and we know the difficult experiences are moving us closer to our Dreams.

Decide.  The word decide has the same root as the words suicide, homicide, and genocide.  The root cis, as in the word incision, means to cut or cut off.  The form of cis, cide means to kill or to kill by cutting.  When you decide, you are cutting or killing off other choices in your current circumstance.  Determination is a decision, a cutting off of choices, a commitment to go through the struggle because your Dream is number one in your heart.  Determination means you overcome by adjusting to the obstacle, like water that finds its way down the river.  Over time your decision to commit to your Dream will reap rewards.

Never Look Back

My wife Margaret began her new business many years ago.  For the first few years she treated it like a hobby.  Studies show that ninety-eight percent of the people who work the business she’s a part of like a business become top income earners within ten years.

One day one of the consultants on Margaret’s team asked her what the key to her success was.  Margaret, who had reached financial success responded, “If you have experienced an obstacle in your business, I probably have experienced it too.  If you have made mistakes in your business, I have probably made the same mistake as well.  There is only one reason why I am successful:  I decided to never give up!  So Decide!  Decide to never give up!”  That’s determination!

Napoleon Hill writes, “Burn your bridges.”[iv]  When it comes to your Dream, give yourself no way out.  Commit to never quit but to train daily at your pace. When desire is afire, adversity is simply another moment to grow stronger while you pursue your Dream.  As Tim Redmond says, “Weak people look outward and make excuses.  Strong people look inward and make adjustments.”[v]

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[i] Matthew 5:37 and James 5:12

[ii] 1 Corinthians 9:25

[iii] Roosevelt, Teddy.  Speech given April 23, 1910 at The Sorbonne in Paris, France.

[iv] Hill, Napoleon.  Think and Grow Rich. Fortune Publishing Group, 2013. Print.

[v] Tim Redmond helps all kinds of organizations and businesses with “transformational growth.”  To explore Tim’s ideas go to http://redmondleadership.com.

Hobbits of the Heart: Desire, the First D of a Dream

What’s a Dream?

            How will you manifest your Dream?  Activity! (Right here is where I wish there was swelling music like when Hobbits do something heroic, but you’ll just have to pretend you hear it.)  Vision alone will not serve.  (Right here is where Vision cries amidst the swelling music:  “I can’t carry your Dream for you, but I can carry you!”)  You can visualize your Dream every evening and morning, but unless you actively do something to live your Dream, it will simply remain a wish.  You are going to have to go through the Dead Marshes of your Dream or climb your own personal steps of Cirith Ungol.  That’s nerd-speak for “sometimes it’s going to be tough.”  What’s the difference between a Dream and a Wish?

A Dream. . .                                        A Wish. . .

is proactive and constant.                   is reactive and fleeting.

burns within your heart                      flickers and fades 
despite all circumstance.                    as circumstances change.

pierces your heart, like a                    misses the mark of the heart
wound that aches to be                       completely.
realized.

is accompanied by passion,                begins with excitement and
tears, and joy.                                      spontaneity but soon subsides 
                                                            as the emotion fades.       

stays with you.                                    strays from you.

Your Dream is your Why.  Your activity is How you reach your Dream.  But here’s the million-dollar question:  What mind-set must be in place to keep practicing the activity when Dead Marshes and Steps of Cirith Ungol block my path?  I’m glad you asked!  You’ve got to be transformed daily by renewing your mind with The 3D’s of a Dream: Desire, Determination, and Discipline.  Let's tackle Desire today. 

Desire

The word desire originates from the Latin root de sidere, meaning from the stars.  Desire is attached to your destiny.  Most people think Destiny is something that comes from something “out there,” from a distance.  But destiny is not fate.  Your destiny is written within your heart.  It originates within you.  Your destiny is the unique combination of gifts within that you are designed to give on this earth.  Because of this, true desire can never steer you in the wrong direction.

Desire also comes from de sire, meaning from the Father. Desires are God-given, written into your very being.  Desire is one of the essences of your soul that serves to transform you so you can bring your unique combination of gifts to the world and play your significant part in this wonderful life.

A beautiful ancient poem reads, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”[i]  And just so you know, the name of the Lord in this ancient poem is I AM Who I AM. 

It’s a statement of each person’s ultimate identity:  I am who I am.  Being who you are fully and living who you are is your destiny and just what this world needs!  In other words, take delight in who you are, with the unique combination of gifts, talents, and strengths placed in you, and bring them to this time and place. 

What is absent in so many people’s lives is their heart.  Listen to what is proactive and constant in your heart.  Listen to what burns in your heart despite all circumstances.  Listen to what pierces your heart, longing to be realized.  Listen to your passion, a deep commitment to do something even if it brings pain and difficulty.  Listen to those things that bring tears because they touch something deep in your heart.  Listen to those things that bring great joy because all of your being is invested in it.  Listen to these and follow your desire, and experience fulfillment.  Rumi writes, “Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”[ii]

Written in the Stars

Do you remember Disney’s Pinocchio?  Jiminy Cricket’s song was about wishing upon a star, but, really, if you know anything about Walt Disney, you know he had big Dreams and many setbacks, including bankruptcies.  What made Disney continue?  Disney had a desire to create the happiest place on earth where imagination was king and Dreams really did come true, a place where tomorrow was today, and a place that showed people the realm of possibility.

The song When You Wish Upon a Star tells Disney’s life story.  The essential element making Disney’s Dream come true occurs in two lines from the famous song:

Anything your heart desires will come to you. . .

When your heart is in your Dream, no request is too extreme.

After spending considerable time studying people who lived their Dreams, the one common denominator, the difference-maker, the one essential component I found is the heart.  The desires of your heart draw your Dream to you.  Feel your desire and begin activity.  Your activity focuses on where you are, where you’re headed and how and when you’re going to get there.  Your activity and desire are connected.  You know your Dream.  You know what you want.  Your desire feeds your activity, which leads to the next essential component after desire, and I'll address that in my next blog.

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[i] Psalm 37:4.  The Old Testament.

[ii] Rumi. Quoted from Phillips, Jan.  Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity.  p. 75.  Wheaton: Quest Books. 1997. Print.

What If?. . .The Pareto Principle, The Reticular Activating System, and Bill Russell

What if?

If you want to live Your Dream in five years, you've got to write it down, create a vision board, write down a plan, create goals, and do something daily to accomplish those goals.  It's been said that we overestimate what we can accomplish in a year, and we underestimate what we can accomplish in five years.  You may say, “I wrote all this down, but what if I don’t accomplish this in five years?”  But what if you do?  Remember, five years are going to pass regardless of what you do (or don’t do).

For the sake of argument let’s say you get five years down the line and only three quarters of your Dream is accomplished, or maybe just half is accomplished.  That is far closer to your Dream than you were five years ago.  My wife, Margaret, and I had a five-year plan to be completely financially free with no debt, so we could do what we wanted, pursue our passions, and go wherever whenever.  It took us six years, but we did it.

It’s the 80/20 Rule, sometimes called The Pareto Principle, named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist.  You’ve probably heard something like eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people.  However, the 80/20 Rule applies to all kinds of situations, one of which is your vision.  While most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in five years, the key is understanding that consistent work toward a goal over time creates exponential returns to one’s effort.  This is an exercise in delayed-gratification, and it takes faith, acting on the belief that what is done well consistently will eventually lead to the manifestation of your vision.  When you begin, it takes a while to see any results, but eventually the returns begin flowing, and if you look back on the journey, you’ll usually find that the last twenty percent of the time it took to accomplish a goal, the faster and greater the returns on your effort.

R.A.S.

Ever heard of the Reticular Activating System (RAS)?  It’s in your brain.  It is the mechanism that brings relevant information to your attention, and it plays a major role in achieving your goals. You can deliberately program the RAS by choosing to send specific messages from your conscious mind like setting goals, saying positive affirmations, or visualizations to your subconscious mind.  By consciously sending a positive message the RAS makes the subconscious and the conscious mind focus on and carry out the message.  If the message is negative (like, “I could never do that.”) the RAS will carry out that message as well.

The RAS doesn’t differentiate between positive and negative.  It simply obeys the message you send it.  The RAS cannot differentiate between a real and synthetic event.  It believes whatever message you send it, even if the message has not taken place in the real world (as if our thoughts and visions aren’t real, I guess!).  Every person has experienced this phenomenon in his or her life. How does this work?

When I was a kid, my buddies and I used to play this game when we were in the car called “slug-a-bug.”  The object of the game was to be the first to spot a red Volkswagen bug.  If you did, then you got to punch the other guys as hard as you could on the arm.  When I played this game, I saw Volkswagen bugs everywhere.  And I had a really sore arm!  But even after the game was over, I would still see Volkswagen bugs when I thought about the game because I had fed my RAS the information to see red Volkswagen bugs.

 But this isn’t just a thing for kids.  Have you ever decided that you are going to buy a certain type of car, and then that is the car you see everywhere you go?  It’s like all of a sudden everyone else in the world had the same brilliant idea to buy the car you want too!  RAS!  Of course, you realize that all those people driving the car you want didn’t just go out and purchase the car the day before you decided you wanted that particular car.  What’s changed is your awareness of that particular car.  The car you want to purchase has come to the forefront of your conscious mind.

Bill Russell, the great NBA player for the Boston Celtics who led his team to 11 NBA Championships, was a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player, and a twelve-time NBA All-Star, was also cut from his Junior High School basketball team, was nearly cut from his High School team at the age of fourteen, and was ignored by major university basketball programs across the country.  He is the most storied player in NBA history, holding eleven, yes, eleven Championships in his thirteen-year playing career.

At the center position, Russell went up against players like Wilt Chamberlain who was five inches taller than Russell.  When asked how he won so often and how he knew he would win, Russell replied that he knew he would win because he had already played and won the whole game in his mind the evening before.  There it is!  The Reticular Activating System!  Through visualization, practice (goal-setting), and his belief in his ability to win (positive affirmations), Russell placed his championship mentality at the forefront of his conscious mind.  In other words Russell had vision, a plan, and listened to the Advocate's stories that served him.  It’s the same with you and your Dream!

Write It Down and Do It

When it comes to accomplishing a Dream, when you write down your Dream, create a Dream Board to visually stimulate your mind, heart, and body, and focus on it every day, you not only consciously pursue it, but your subconscious also focuses on it as well.  You have to create a vision and visualize it, positive affirmations and affirm them, goals and work them if you want to accomplish your Dream.

Here’s why:  The Reticular Activating System and the 80/20 Rule.  Eighty percent of your Dream will be accomplished in the last twenty percent of the time set for your goals.  The first eighty percent of your time builds the foundation for the exponential growth in the last twenty percent of your Dream timetable.  All those visualizations, affirmations, and goal-setting compound over time, building momentum, like that tsunami from chapter three.  If you have no vision, positive affirmations, and goals written down, then you are not dreaming!  You are wishing.  So, write it down, create a Dream Board, visualize it daily, speak your positive affirmations, and set and accomplish goals along the way.  Your Reticular Activating System will obey you!

With the vision, positive affirmations, and goals you’ve written and spoken I guarantee, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you will be closer to your Dream than if you did none of these actions because intention brings results.  It may get messy and difficult.  It may seem like two steps forward and one step back (Remember, that’s a step forward!).  It may not look exactly how you visualized it.  In other words it may not be “perfect” (whatever that means to you).  But here’s the dealio.  Let me speak freely: It’s not about perfection.  It’s about progression.

Truth, Money, and Fun

Soren Kierkegaard writes, “I must find a truth that is true for me . . . an idea for which I can live or die.”[i]  We must find our unique calling residing within each of us, a significant purpose only we can bring to our community and world.  This calling is part of truth, and truth is always caught up in love in some way.  This is your Why.

Part of my Why is this blog.  One of my goals is to get in front of as many people as possible, as often as possible, and, through writing, speaking, teaching and coaching, help them find their Why, discover their Dream, unlock their Greatness and transform so the world is a better place.  Every endeavor I am involved in from teaching, to business, to speaking and coaching is caught up in empowering people. I want to play to my strengths every day in everything I do and say, and it must be the same for you, your gifts and your Dream. 

Money, You’re Gonna Need It

Zig Ziglar once said, “Money isn’t everything, but it ranks right up there with oxygen!”[ii]  Just as the body needs oxygen to survive, so, too, in this world we must have money.  Of course, oxygen is a corrosive when there is too much of it.  And money can become corrosive when we fail to see it with the proper perspective.

Really, money is not a corrosive.  The love of money is corrosive.  That’s called greed.  I don’t recommend it (greed that is).  But we can love the opportunities money gives to transform our community and world.  We must make The Shift in the way we see and use money.

Money is a tool.  If your Dream is big, and it should be, then you are going to need a big toolkit.  Money is a liberator of abundance thinkers driven to live their Dreams for the transformation of their community and world.

Have Fun!

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”  He types it over and over thousands of times, and soon Jack Nicholson is trying to kill his wife and child in The Shining.  To this day it is one of the scariest films I have ever seen.  And maybe this is overkill (pardon the pun), but have you ever been working and working and working, building up stress until you snapped?  Maybe it was a friend you snapped at, maybe a family member.  Or maybe it was the ghosts inhabiting the halls of the big creepy hotel you were supposed to be taking care of.  The point is “all work and no play” does not a happy camper make!

I love trail running, road biking, singing, playing the guitar, and training for the occasional marathon or triathlon.  I enjoy Disney World, the beach, the mountains, and travel.  I like to play!  And it must be the same for you!

Many studies find that playing is essential to brain development and greater social learning skills.  Playing alleviates stress, keeps your mind healthy, and replenishes your ability to live your Dream imaginatively and affectively.  Oh, and it keeps you from wanting to murder your family in the dead of winter in a creepy hotel in the middle of nowhere.

So what do you love to do?  Find some healthy playtime and enjoy your lifetime.  Schedule it and make it a consistent routine.  The rest of your life (and your family) will thank you!

Truth, Money, and Fun!  Find it, Make it, and Have it!  And live!!!

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[i] For this idea and an accessible compendium on many of Kierkegaard’s ideas I recommend the following collection:  Kierkegaard, Soren.  Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard.  Ed. Charles E. Moore.  Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2007. Print.

[ii] For all things Zig Ziglar go to the following website: http://www.ziglar.com.

Shine! or Thomas Jefferson, Mercedes, and Gifts Given

Thomas Jefferson said, “He who lights his [candle] at mine, receives light without darkening me.”[i]  Put another way, if you have ideas, share them; there are more where those came from!  If you have money, give some away; there’s more where that came from!  If you have only one piece of bread, give it to someone who is hungry; you can bake more bread!  Abundance thinkers believe, know, and live like there’s always plenty to go around.

Some say that the getting is in the giving, but, truth be told, give and it will be given to you.[ii]  The difference between these two statements matters, so understand:  whatever you give, will be given to you.  I am not talking about karma.  No, this principle, this truth, is different.  In karma you get what you deserve.  That is not the same as give and it will be given to you.  This subtle difference between “the getting is in the giving” and “give and it will be given to you” lies in intention.  What do I mean?

Well, it’s like the mother who took her daughter shopping at the mall.  The mother was frustrated with the parking lot being too full, the man who cut her off to steal the parking place she wanted, and the crowded corridors between stores, filled with obnoxious, thoughtless people.  By the time they got to the department store it was evident by the mother’s expression that she was quite resentful of the whole situation.  After purchasing their clothing, the mother and daughter began to walk out of the store.  The mother leaned over to her daughter and said, “Did you see the look that clerk behind the counter gave me?”  The daughter turned to her mom and said, “Oh no Mom, you already had that look on your face when you came into the store.”

Ouch!  Give and it will be given to you.

If you approach your life with the principle that the getting is in the giving, then you will be giving so that you can get.  Your intention is self-seeking, often based on punishment or reward.  And this makes it really difficult to live your calling and your Dream, because your Dream is not just about your fulfillment but fulfilling a service to others by using your passions and gifts.  In fact, giving freely from your heart of abundance your gifts, talents, possessions, money, or food with no expectation but to love, bless, and serve the receiver always moves you toward living your calling and Dream.

If you simply give of yourself to others, others will see your generosity, genuine heart, and transparency in your life.  They will be more likely to reciprocate that same kind of genuine and transparent giving.  But even if they do not reciprocate, that is ok because your intention was in the giving, not the getting, and it is the giving that brings joy and fulfillment.

If you have a hard time believing this, try this simple experiment.  During your day, deliberately wear a smile on your face as you walk by people and greet them or simply make eye contact with them.  Then keep track of how many people smile back at you and how many people do not change expression or pretend to ignore you, etc.  In my experience most people reciprocate my smiling expression.  But don’t take my word for it.  Try it.  I think you’ll be amazed at the number of smiles you receive.  And even if someone doesn’t smile at you, you’ll still be smiling, and that’s a good thing.

You see, when the getting is in the giving, people owe you.  And when people owe you, they are not responding to you freely.  That’s called manipulation.  But when someone gives to you, it is a gift of his or her own free will, no strings attached, no expectations involved.  The gift flows from the heart and is given freely with love, good will, and as an expression of gratitude and kindness.

When we love others to get love, often we are disappointed.  When we are kind so that others will be kind to us, many times we’re let down.  When we feign compassion and empathy out of obligation or just because it’s the right thing to do, or so that others will like us and hopefully act the same way toward us, we often find ourselves on the short end of receiving, and we are unhappy.

But, when we genuinely love others, using our gifts or strengths, it is far more likely that love will be given freely to us. When we wholeheartedly practice acts of kindness, it is likely kindness will be given to us.  When we fully show compassion and empathy for others, it is likely compassion and empathy will be given to us.  These are all gifts given from intrinsic motivations, not extrinsic obligations.  This is depth of soul.

Those who realize it is better to give than to receive[iii] also understand that if you live in the realm of abundance and give your ideas, your time, your mind, your body, your soul, and your material goods to others, all of it will be given to you ten-fold in some way at some time.  Yes, the gift you receive may be monetary or something material, but the gift you receive could equally be a sense of fulfillment within, a sense of gratitude to be able to give to someone and add value to someone in need.  When you live imaginatively and creatively, expecting new opportunities and new ways to give and grow, you’re free to give what you have because you know you’ll always have more.  This is depth of soul.

But those who believe it is better to receive than give live in the realm of scarcity.  Driven by fear of loss, they often hold on to their ideas, use their time only for themselves, withholding their mind, body, soul, and material goods.  They fear that opportunities are limited and tend to react to what is happening.  Scarcity thinkers keep score of what they give and what they get back for that act of giving.  This is life in the shallows.

The irony of scarcity thinking is that those who do it, don’t realize the scarcity lies within themselves.  It has little to do with the world around them, and everything to do with the world within them.  Emptiness lies within.  Typically, scarcity thinking is driven from the outside in, the exact opposite of abundance thinkers who see the world and all circumstances from the inside out.

Margaret, my wife, is a Regional Vice President in her company.  One of the perks she enjoys is the company car for achieving a certain level of success.  The car is a white Mercedes Benz.  It’s a really nice car.  What it represents is Margaret’s decision to work every day toward adding value to others’ lives.  Because she has built her business and helped many others achieve success and personal growth by introducing them to great products, the company she works for says thank you by giving her a company car.  The car represents Margaret’s hard work and abundance mindset.

But here’s the point:  the car, or the paycheck, or the income that allows us to live well and give more, will never equal Margaret seeing the transformation and change in those she has served by simply introducing them to the products and opportunity her company offers. Margaret’s service, love, and compassion for others far exceeds a piece of metal, even a nice piece of metal like a Mercedes.  The car is a manifestation of the far deeper, richer, and rewarding experience of an abundant heart.  At the end of the day, it’s the relationships and the fulfillment of a heart grateful for the opportunity to give that matter more than things.

Abundance thinkers are candles giving away their light, losing nothing.  On the contrary the light is passed on from candle to candle until the entire world they inhabit dispels the darkness.  If you give light to those around you, you’ll never be in darkness.  Shine and share your light!  In your business, at school, at church, in your family, with your spouse or partner, in every moment shine! 

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[i] Jefferson, Thomas.  Selected Writings.  Vol. 6.  Ed. Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr.  AHM Publishing. 1979. Print.

[ii] Luke 6:38

[iii] Acts 20:35

Ending the Zombie Apocalypse! Letting the Rebel Inside of You Out!

Warning:  Dreams, Zombies, and Sheep

            Winston Churchill said, “When you’re twenty you care what everyone thinks.  When you’re forty you stop caring what everyone thinks.  When you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.”  It’s likely your Why or Dream will not be appreciated, understood, nor necessarily valued by those around you.  Why?  Most people are too busy thinking about themselves to appreciate someone else’s Why. 

Another reason others may not appreciate your Why?  Jealousy.  Most people have locked away their Dreams, their imaginations, and their creativity in quiet desperation.  They have traded the spirit of adventure for the spirit of safety and security.  They have resigned themselves to their fates.  They are walking dead.  Zombies!  It’s one of the reasons I think we are fascinated with the zombie apocalypse.  Most of us are living it already!

Friederich Nietzsche called this the herd mentality.[i]  According to Nietzsche we are sheep, seeking security and safety in the herd over true, vibrant life!  When a Martin Luther King Jr. comes along, someone who says “think different,” we don’t like that.  We want ease, comfort, and safety. We don’t want to change. We don’t want to be vulnerable. We want to avoid pain, even if who we truly are and our Why is on the other side of struggle, vulnerability, and pain.

In the English Department copy room where I teach there is an old Apple advertisement.  It depicts an old Mac Computer, and below the picture is one of Apple’s old slogans:  “Think Different!”  In red pen, written between the t and the exclamation point is an ly.  Obviously, some English teacher felt compelled to correct Apple’s advertisement to reflect the proper form of the modifier after the word think.

Besides making all English teachers look like completely uptight, unhappy, nerds, ironically, the corrector of said advertisement completely missed the irony, and, instead, became part of the joke!  Why, because most people would rather be right than be successful.  Most people would rather be safe and secure in the way things have always been than take risks, think outside the box, or see things from a different point of view.  Most people would rather remain the same rather than grow.

The herd.  In most of public education, people move from pen to pen when the bell rings and the shepherd (teacher) lets them go.  At our J.O.B. (just over broke, but comfortable) we punch in, get our fifteen-minute break, one-hour lunch, and punch out.  We know what’s coming.  It’s our lot in life.  It may not be a lot, but it’s a life.

Then someone comes along and completely blows up all our preconceived notions, all our traditions, all our community ethics, all we’ve come to know and expect, and we don’t like it one bit. Who are these people?  Ancient Aliens?  No!  They are people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Steve Jobs, Jesus of Nazareth, Henry David Thoreau, Teddy Roosevelt, Lao Tzu, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, the list goes on and on.  (Come to think of it, maybe they are aliens.  They seem so foreign to most of us!)  You know them because they transform humanity and society.

Arthur Schopenhauer writes, “All truth passes through three stages.  First, it is ridiculed.  Second, it is violently opposed.  Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”[ii]  We struggle to understand that the Dreams of others serve us even though we may not know we are being served until much later.  However, if we make The Shift, we see that change is inevitable but growth is optional.  We discover that our own Dream will serve those we love, even if they don’t understand it at first.

This is what happened in the U.S. in the 1950’s and 60’s. In the United States, even though we have a long way to go, as the evening news makes clear, many of us see racial equality as self-evident.  But not long ago, large numbers of Americans were threatened by, troubled by, and resistant to racial equality.  Those who lived to overcome racial injustice in the U.S. experienced the three stages of truth:  ridicule, violent opposition, and self-evident acceptance.  Thank God they were willing to lead in love, sticking with their Dream to transform a nation to truly practice its original creed that all people are created with unalienable rights, among those being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Your Dream And No One Else’s

Albert Camus writes, “The only way to deal with an un-free world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”[iii]  Camus was not saying be a rebel.  Like, “They say yes, so I say no. They say stop, so I say go!”  That’s just silly.

He was saying be unapologetically who you are.  You are uniquely you for a reason.  Jobs, the Wright brothers, and King all understood this.  You have a Dream for a reason.  That reason is grounded in love for yourself and others.  As Arthur Schopenhauer suggests, your Dream, your reason, and your love are all found in Truth that is self-evident. It is integral to the world you inhabit, and, regardless of the voices around you, you must bring your Dream into the world, whether or not others understand, appreciate or value it.  You must give it and continue to give it.  This is the pathway to real life, abundance and success.  This is the path of walking in your Greatness.

to be nobody but yourself -- in a world that is doing its best,

night and day, to make you everybody else --

means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight;

and never stop fighting[iv]

- e.e. cummings

Your Dream begins with your Why.  So, what is your Why?  Find it!  Live it!  And say goodbye to Zombieland!

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[i] See Friederich Nietzsche’s essay Beyond Good and Evil.  First published in 1886.

[ii] Schopenhauer, Arthur.  The World As Will. Dover.  1996.

[iii] Camus, Albert.  The Outsider.  Penguin Modern Classics.  Penguin. 2006

[iv] Cummings, E. E.  E.E. Cummings: A Miscellany. Ed. George J. Firmage.  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. No longer in print, though available for free at http://www.muebooks.com/ee-cummings-a-miscellany-PDF-4793986/.

The Two Greatest Days, A Golden Circle, and Why

William Barclay writes, “There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.”  Hanging on one of my walls is the following statement:  “The question is not, ‘What do I want to do with my life?’  The question is ‘Why?’”  If you don’t know why, you’ll never really try.

In his book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action[i], Simon Sinek explains the three layers of Greatness using what he calls The Golden Circle.

Sinek’s Golden Circle consists of three concentric circles.  The inside circle is one’s Why.  The next outer circle is one’s How, and the third outer circle is one’s What.  The key to one’s Greatness lies in the interwoven implementation of the three circles, but the core is the Why. ( Check out Sinek's youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4)

 Sinek uses Steve Jobs, the Wright brothers, and Martin Luther King, Jr. as three examples of The Golden Circle.  Each of these figures exemplifies the power and influence of one’s Why. As we briefly examine the three layers of Greatness in The Golden Circle and these three case studies, open your mind and ask yourself, “What is my Why, my Dream?”

Steve Jobs

What made Steve Jobs an influential human being was his relentless attention to make the most attractive, sleekest, easy to use, accessible technological devices on the planet.  And it all comes back to his Why.  Jobs connected his Why to those working for Apple.  Apple engineers weren’t necessarily brighter than engineers at other companies.  Apple had a CEO who was deeply committed to his Why.  It drove everything Jobs did, and consequently everything his employees did.

           

The Wright Brothers

If God had wanted man to fly,

He would have given him wings.

           -Bishop Milton Wright

           (Father of Orville and Wilbur Wright)

The Wright brothers will forever be remembered for inventing manned flight.  But most significantly, the Wright brothers’ why was to make a better world and improve the lives of all humanity.  It was not simply to invent manned flight.

            The Wright brothers had a contemporary who wanted to invent manned flight.  This man had everything going for him.  He was a professor at a major university with funding and connections with the press and government.  He had all the advantages.  But he lacked one thing the broke, untrained, poorly connected, evidently unsupported by their father, cow-pasture-for-an-airfield, bicycle-making Wright brothers possessed: a powerful Why.  The professor’s Why was to become rich and famous.

            When the Wright brothers flew for the first time, this professor simply quit.  He didn’t even entertain trying to improve flight.  The difference between the Wright brothers and the professor was their Whys.  A Why solely focused on you will not last.  That kind of Why is not a dream.  It’s a nightmare!

Martin Luther King Jr.

What made Martin Luther King Jr. an influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement?  King spoke to the nation from a different place than most: his heart.  King’s most famous words deviated from his originally planned speech.  Instead, King shared his Why.  King’s most famous speech was not I Have a Plan or I Have a Great Activity We Can Do.  It was I Have a Dream, that his children would live in a world where every human being was judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. A Dream connecting with others is the most powerful force on earth.

  

It All Depends on Why

Steve Jobs, the Wright brothers, and Martin Luther King Jr. all possessed the one component essential to living one’s calling:  a Why.  Everyone has a Why.  Everyone!  But not everyone discovers it or uncovers it because many struggle to see beyond themselves.  A Why is always caught up in service to something bigger than one’s self.  The greatest leaders see themselves in service to a higher authority.  A Why rests in your heart.  It is the most important component to finding your Greatness.  Your Why:

·      always engages your imagination.

·      always concerns serving others.

·      is your vision for your life.

A famous book of wisdom reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”[ii]  A Dream brings life!  Your Dream equals your Why!

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[i] Sinek, Simon.  Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.  Penguin (USA), 2011. Print.

[ii] Proverbs 29:18