2007… What a Great Year to Live it!

By Scott V. Black

For those reading this article that I have not had the pleasure to talk with since the New Year… Happy New Year!

2007 is going to be a great year. For me, 2006 was about cleaning up some messes. God had me in the “pruning” mode and in the classroom of life. I got the chance to fix a big mistake and to use that mistake as a vehicle to fix some flaws in my character and my patterns. Those are not completely finished… but they are in motion and should be wrapped up early in this fine New Year. What about you?

There used to be two trains of thoughts about New Year’s resolutions. Some people make new years resolutions and some people don’t. Now we have that “new” group, the group that has resolved to not make new years resolutions. They are a bit different than the ones that don’t, because they get something from telling everybody they “resolve to not make resolutions.” Somehow they have risen above.

Which ever group you fall into, you can decide what that decision says about you. However, I want you to consider that all of us at the Empower U Leadership Team could agree that we all want to “LIVE” what we learned in Leadership Awakening. We have all experience the life altering, inspiring, heightened sensory acuity that comes from the Leadership Awakening experience. We leave the training with a new Passion, a new Commitment…a new “look” on life. When we leave we are committed to Living It.

To read the rest of the article, including an insider's view of the core values of Leadership Awakening, click here.

And, to get ideas to help you make those values real in your everyday life, see today's Action Steps below.

Today's Action Plan asks you to consider how you are living your core values. You might take a look at the ones mentioned in the article as a refresher and see how they relate to your most important values. Make a short list of the most important values you hold in living your life like it matters.

Once you have a list of these values it's time to take stock. Ask yourself the following:

1. How did you do last year living these values? If you're like most of us, you will give yourself mixed reviews.
2. What can you do to improve your performance in living these values this coming year? Be specific!
3. Then, incorporate these action in your daily, weekly and monthly review and planning. Put them in as part of your "5 & 5." Do whatever it takes to keep yourself accountable for your decisions to live your life to it's fullest.

As I had written in class that I wanted to become a better member of church, well the men's group of my church oversees a boy's youth home for underprivileged  boys who are basically abandoned by their parents. The boys range in age from 12 to 17. The leader of the men's group has always asked me to participate in activities such as just taking a couple of the boys out to lunch, etc., but up until now I always felt I was too busy.

Two days ago I took 2 boys, Randy 13 and Mark 15 to lunch and I must say it was a very self-fulfilling experience. Not only did I see how much they enjoyed just getting to go to a restaurant, which is something most of us get to do anytime we want, but I realized how much I have been given in life and how fortunate I am.

I guess I have always known that there were kids that were on their own, but have never taken the time to help.  I only took a few hours out of one of my days that might have changed the lives of a couple of boys. When I dropped them off they both were very appreciative and I told them we would do it again in the future.

This experience really made me appreciate what I have and realize how fortunate I have been. I also feel that it brightened the day for Randy and Mark and made them feel that someone does care what happens to them. The biggest benefit I can see that I received from this experience is a good feeling that I may have helped someone.

I'm under construction and every day I get better.

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