• Words That Change: "Commitment" - by Scott V. Black, CEO
• Our Commitment to the Renaissance - by Dennis L. Huff, President
• Making a Difference - Kayla Robinett, Team 523
• New Leadership Adventure Dates...
• Empower U International is Looking for Committed People to Join the Renaissance
• My Word Coach - Hats and Rain...

Words That Change: "Commitment"

By Scott V. Black

Hello Empower U Leadership Team.

I am writing this article from Mexico. We are leading Team 533 through the Awakening process and helping 18 leaders in Mexico Live their Lives like they matter!!!

We are in this series called “Words that Change.” Today we are going to cover commitment. On the speech sheets used in Leadership Awakening when students are making their notes for the speeches they will give, this is what it says on the Commitment sheet:

A promise. Undying focus to accomplish something. The act of being committed. To take appropriate action in keeping your word.

Commitment is the action of following through on what you say you are going to do. It is about doing the right thing, the thing you committed to-- whether it is fun or not…whether you like it or not. Commitment is about being congruent; having your words and your actions say the same thing.

There is a commitment problem in this world. The problem is not the making of commitments. As human beings, we have no problem making commitments. The problem comes in “keeping’ the commitments. 100% of all marriages start with a wedding! All marriages start with the making of a commitment, “I DO.”

More than half of those marriages end with the “breaking” of the commitment. It is not always easy staying committed to something, or someone.

One of the things that I love the most about what we do at Empower U is that people get to experience commitment at a deep level. They start a class that is confusing and challenging. At the start of the class they don’t know how this could possibly change their lives. We constantly push them to commit, to “step over the line,” to trust the process.

I am always amazed how many times I talk with people on the phone before class and they are so excited about going and how badly they need this class… Then class starts and they have the “Deer in the headlights” look, and they wind up battling me in class for the first 2 days. They talked about how committed they were, but when the class started that commitment wasn’t there.

Real Commitment

Real commitment, is at the point of decision. Commitment at the point of decision is true commitment.

I like to use the example of going to the gym, because most of us know this well. At 11pm, I have my gym pack packed, I set the alarm clock for 4:30am, I lay in bed and I am committed to go to the gym in the morning and have a great workout. I am committed to this workout program! In the morning, 4:30 am, the alarm clock goes off… “I am so tired. I have to train again this weekend. I didn’t sleep well… I will work out next week.”

I reset the alarm clock and later wake up at 7am… feeling guilty!

So what happened? Was I committed? I can say yes and no. I was committed at 11:00 at night. There is no doubt that I was going to the gym, I would stake my life on it. The problem was, 11, was not the time I needed the commitment. The commitment was required at 4:30 am, at the point of decision.

What Are You Committed To?

So let me ask you what are you committed to? And when is that commitment most important, most needed?

The answer is: at the point of decision — and in some situations that is a moment by moment decision.

Those who know me know that Empower U has always been my baby. I have sacrificed everything for my baby. I am committed to what God has put me here to do. I keep going, I don’t back down, I put my heart, body and soul out there! I am not the most talented, or best looking, or best built, but I do suggest that when I am in class… I would put my level of commitment up against anybody!

In our training, I have found the one area of my life where I don’t have a problem keeping my commitment… there is no choice! I know God is in control and my job is to push the “Go” button! I just keep moving forward, keep trusting the process and keep my commitment!

What do you say you are committed to… who do you think you show commitment to? Do a quick inventory answering this question.

As you are doing this inventory some of you might not be sure of what those areas of commitment are, or what they should be. Let me help you figure that out.

The bible says that where your treasure is, that is where our heart is. So here is the best way to figure out what you are committed to: Check your scheduler and your check book and you will find out what you are committed to!

If you want to know what you are committed to, see where you spend your time and your money.

I don’t care what you say you are committed to, what you are really committed to will be demonstrated by where you spend those two important resources… time and money! So take that inventory and see what it is that you are committed to.

Now that you see what you are committed to, UP UNTIL NOW… how are you doing? Is that what you want to be committed to, is that the right thing to be committed to?

A great way to figure that out is to check your passion. What are you passionate about, what do you want to commit your heart, body and soul to? Whatever that answer is, that is where your true commitment should be!

So compare the two! What does your check book and your scheduler say you are committed to? What does your Passion — Heart, Body and Soul — tell you you should be committed to? Are they congruent, are there some adjustments that need to be made?

If you want to make commitment work, invest your heart, body and soul.

That is the definition of 100%, heart, body and soul! Whether you feel like it doesn’t matter, wherever you invest your heart, body and soul… there is where your treasure is!

In our training I know that God is allowing me to live my purpose. So even when I don’t want to be there, even when I am wore out, even when I am struggling in my life… I commit everything I have in my class, in our students. No matter how bad I felt when class gets started… my commitment to those people brings me out of any funk I could be in!

Vince Lombardi said this:

“I'm going to share with you the secret to success in any business. That secret, in a word, is heart-power. Capture the heart; you've captured the person. Get people to fall in love with your company.”

I never met Vince Lombardi, but I do know from reading about him is that he was a man who demanded commitment. As a motivator and a good coach, he wanted his players to learn what it was like to be committed to something. If he could get his players to learn how to give it all on the field, then they could take that lesson from the football field to the field of their life!

We do the same thing in our Leadership classes. Those that buy in, that trust the person that sent them, that trust the process and “do it, even though…,” they experience the greatest breakthroughs in life.

Sacrifice and Commitment

And this brings us to one of the reasons why people don’t commit… sacrifice. It usually takes sacrifice. It takes giving it all, so you can’t “give it” somewhere else.

In our class people sacrifice their time, their effort, their free will to do whatever they want… they “choose to” do it Empower U’s way, not their “normal” way. They sacrifice making phone calls, they sacrifice getting 8 hours of sleep, they sacrifice their voices, they sacrifice being away from their family for 2 days… they commit their Heart, Body and Soul… they sacrifice!

Commitment that is given your heart, body and soul is “Real Commitment.”

A marriage, a long term relationship, a cause, a relationship with God, changing your life in a 2 day Leadership training… all of these take putting your heart, body and soul into whatever you are doing. Vince Lombardi was talking about the heart.

General George Patton talks about the Soul, although he calls it mind:

“If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”

Our soul can also be expressed by our attitude, it is the energy that we expend. It comes from our soul! William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.”

The famous psychologist and Auschwitz survivor Victor Frankl put it this way, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s own way.”

Heart, Body and Soul

Anything that you put your heart, body and soul into you will be committed to. We are changing our world, one person at a time starting with ourselves. We are living what Margaret Meade said years ago, “Never doubt that a committed group of people can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has!” WE are committed to the renaissance so that we are around 20 years from now.

In his article Dennis Huff, President of Empower U, talks about the “Commitment to the Renaissance.” The renaissance is continuing and it is taking some sacrifice… it is taking commitment from many people in many ways. Just like in Leadership Awakening, Leadership Adventure and our EQ: Communicating with Power trainings, at Empower U international we are committed to our mission… To make this world a better place one person at a time, starting with ourselves.

I believe that most people don’t feel the “need” to commit, they don’t see the payoff. Unfortunately, as human beings we do wear this hat, it has the initials… “WIIFM.” What’s in it for me, is a hat we all wear at some level. We don’t always like to admit it… but it is on more than we think, or like to admit.

The great news is that when we can get confirmation, feedback that there is something great in this for us… then our decision to commit is validated, rewarded and reinforced.

In our leadership trainings the payoff is passion, focus, purpose, vision… a better life, a better feeling about that life. At Empower U our team members could make more money working else where, they could have less stressful jobs… but at Empower U the payoff is in lives changed, and difference made!

Guy Kawasaki put it best when he said,

“To the luckiest of people, a time comes when they join or launch a cause that forever changes their lives and the lives of others. Losing yourself in a cause is delicious and intoxicating, the best word to describe the sensation is ‘Crusade.’

“The first thing you need to believe about a crusade is – Never underestimate its power. It can transform ordinary people, products, and companies into devastating flamethrowers!

“You have to have a passionate desire to make a difference and fearlessly believe in your cause.”

Dennis, Tracy, Mark, Mindy, Edie, Bruce, Tami… they could all have easier jobs, make more money… but the commitment they make to the Empower U cause is paying a huge dividend. Changed lives, better futures, healed pasts… leaving this world a bit better!

The Price of Commitment

My schedule the last few months has been hectic. I think I have done something like 14 classes in the last 18 weeks. We are putting all the pieces in place at Empower U to build a better company, a long lasting cause… and that takes commitment.

The bible also says that to He who much is given, much is required! So through this commitment to Empower U and my commitment to my children… there has been very little of me left.

I have sacrificed some other relationships, some of my health, and much emotion. The payoff is always there in the classroom. I get to see, hear, and feel the changed lives right in front of my eyes.

I have also made that same commitment to my kids. Faith, Christian and Major are the most important relationships in my life, next to Jesus Christ.

Because I am fried a lot because of my emotional commitment I give in our classes, I have to choose what to do with the time that I am NOT in class. I have to be very clear of my commitment to my kids, otherwise I would lose a valuable relationship, but more importantly I could cost my children by not being the father that they need to live a great life for the next 80 years.

So with my time outside of the classroom, I have to choose what I do with my time based on my commitment to be a great father. I don’t live in a clean house, I don’t have a “pretty” life sometimes.

A Father's Commitment

I do not father my children based on “other peoples” belief of how I should be as a father. My approach is not normal, some might say, but I am so clear on my commitment and I give them my heart, body and soul and do everything I can do to be a great father while being a great leader and changing peoples lives at the same time.

Sometimes I wonder how well I am doing, since I don’t get to see that payoff immediately like I do in class. Dennis and I share beliefs about raising kids and clean house, and stuff like that and it is normal for me to second, third and fourth guess myself.

Sunday was Fathers day and since I would be on the road giving speeches in California, the kids celebrated fathers day on Saturday.

They bought me gifts and then they do a process for me like our leadership Adventure course. For those that haven’t been through Leadership Adventure, let me tell you it involves notes, a scavenger hunt and a lot of fun and gifts.

So I went on my “present hunt” and enjoyed the process and the gifts very much. But the biggest payoff was the cards I got from my two oldest kids Faith and Christian. Here's an image of the card (click the image to see it full-sized):

 

I want to share with you Faiths words...

“I love you Dad, Happy Fathers day. Thank you for everything you do for all us Blacks and for all of Mexico and America. God has blessed me so much to have you as my father. You are the best father I could ever ask for. Don’t let things get to you and that will make you an even better father. I love you with my whole heart times a quadrillion. From your favorite daughter in the world”

Why commit? That is why!

The payoff is delicious; it is intoxicating… it will change people’s lives, especially the one who commits.

Does it take sacrifice? Is it hard? Is it easier to do something else? Is it out of the norm? Is it worth it?

The answer to all those questions is YES!

The world is in desperate need for some committed parents, teachers, Christians, spouses… leaders! If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

Commitment, It’s What Leaders Do!

Whatever you want, whoever you are if you want to be truly successful, commit! Commit to something, commit to someone… just commit.

The Empower U Leadership Team needs many committed people. We need Trainers, Enrollment officers, “starfish” hunters, staff members, students in class, participants in the process… so we can be successful in living our mission! Why commit? So you can experience success in this life and beyond:

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived… this is to have succeeded!”
                           ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Fathers day to all the committed fathers out there! Who you are matters… what you do matters! Remember…

When you live your life like it matters… It does! Keep your commitments to those children, this world will be better for it!

With Passion-HBS,

Scott V. Black
The Empower U International Leadership Team

Our Commitment to the Renaissance

by Dennis L. Huff, President

We are committed to the visionary goals for the new EmpowerU International projects and business expansion. Last month, as part of that process, you met 2 new team members.

This month we remain strongly committed to finding more of the right people - people who are in the right place at the right time and are ready to become a part of our new committed leadership team.

EmpowerU International operates just like any other dynamic team, company or organization. Like your company that continues empowering people by sending them through the Leadership Experience, we are committed to creating a solid corporate culture of excellence.

The highest levels of excellence happen when people master the core disciplines driven home by the 3 classes that are the Leadership Experience: Leadership Awakening, Leadership Adventure and EQ: Communicating with Power.

Those skills - focus, vision, passion, purpose, teamwork and commitment - create companies that thrive.

The most powerful and effective organizations have leaders who naturally empower others. When someone is doing their job... they know that job better than anybody. They no longer need to be 'empowered,' but encouraged and left alone to be able to do what they know best. That is why the EmpowerU Leadership development and personal growth programs are so successful.

A true commitment is a heartfelt promise to yourself, from which you will NOT back down, no matter what the circumstances may be! Many people have good intentions and dreams, but only a few are willing to commit to what is necessary to achieve them. That is why our clients want every aspect of one’s life to be affected while attending our training as to enhance inner creative potential and the passion, desire and commitment to be the best of the best in all areas; personal and professional.

If you'd like to make a powerful difference in the world, we may have an opportunity for you. We're looking for people who would like to actually get paid while affecting and enhancing the lives of others by getting involved in any number of ways with the EmpowerU International leadership Team.

From staff to trainers, assistant trainers, sales and the like... Were you to sense a deeper purpose for your life feel free to send us an email or give us a call and we will be honored to share more details about this great opportunity to be part of the core founding group of committed leaders.

As we continue the journey towards taking EmpowerU to another level of dynamic performance we thank each and every one of you for your support and praise. Recent testimonials bring heartfelt tears of appreciation when we hear from you, our graduates, about what this training can do for anyone from any walk in life.

"We will all eventually die. The real tragedy is failing to fully live. Too many people are having 'near-life experiences'."

Let the journey continue…

Dennis L Huff

Making a Difference - Kayla Robinett, Team 523

Since Leadership Awakening I have followed through and given Briona (my daughter) the attention that I said that I would. I realized that I was talking to her and playing with her before but it was on my own terms. I played the games that I wanted and listened when it was convenient for me.

Well that has changed. Today I had to give her a serious talk about not going anywhere unless she has permission from me. She started crying and that led to her having a complete melt down. I was confused, I told her that I wasn't mad and I spoke to her calmly, I didn't understand that why she was reacting this way.

Finally, we were laying on her bed holding each other and she says "Mommy I don't know why I can't stop crying. I just feel happy that you are here."

Wow, what a moment! This coming from a 6 year old who spend every day all day with me. Up until now I have been so worried about doing the right things for her, taking her to counseling, paying 1700 dollars for Sylvan Learning Center, only taking jobs that I can take her with me to, gymnastics twice a week and keeping her with me at all times.

I realize now that I was so busy showing the world how much I love and care about her that I had forgotten to show her. I WILL show her every day!

New Leadership Adventure Dates

The Time is Now to Complete the Leadership Experience

We have new dates for Leadership Adventure. If you've been through Leadership Awakening, this is a perfect opportunity to finish the process of taking your leadership skills from 25 to 100.

“The feeling I have today after completing Adventure is difficult for me verbalize because words seem to be so much less extraordinary than the feeling itself.

“I feel as though I am “stretched” with my feet firmly planted in the most extremely rooted, power stance I have ever stood, my soul is soaring the universe, all the while my mind is fixated, focused on myself, my family, coworkers, community and my world at large. And even more than Awakening this feeling has the possibility of lasting a lifetime.

“My desire for building a future NOW has a plan, materials & a crew of skilled builders with a powerful and fearless leader.

Brandy Holmes
Air Systems of Sacramento

All Leadership Adventure classes take place on a beautiful ranch in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. The next scheduled dates are:

July 25-27 - Friday through Saturday

September 11-13 - Friday through Saturday

Call today to reserve your spot and get ready for the adventure of your lifetime! Complete the process you started in Awakening. Contact the Dallas office to enroll - (817) 478-1858.

Empower U International is Looking for Committed People to Join the Renaissance

Make an Even Bigger Difference

If you'd like to make a powerful difference in the world, we may have the opportunity for you. We're looking for people to fill two positions:

1. Enrollment Officer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to help prospective students understand more about our classes by answering their questions and helping them enrolled in class. You'll learn a time-tested and highly effective sales process as well as work with motivated and empowered people helping make the world a better place one person at a time.
2. We're also looking for part-time trainers who will commit to one weekend a month in exchange for becoming a powerful trainer using our proprietary teaching techniques. You'll learn by doing in actual class situations and be part of making a powerful difference in the lives of those in class.

If you're ready to step over the line and join the Empower U International Renaissance, call the Dallas office at (817) 478-1858.

My Word Coach

Can you figure it out?

We commonly use words and phrases that have old meanings. Often we aren't even aware of where those words came from.

Twice a month we'll be giving you a hint about word and a phrase and ask you to guess what the word or phrase is. Of course we'll be giving you the answers, but do yourself a favor and see if you can get the answer before clicking on the link.

Have fun!

Question #1: In old England there was a law that a house could not be built closer than 2 feet from the property line. The law was passed to keep water dripping from the roof overhang onto the neighboring property. Eventually the word describing the space between houses led to this word because anyone using it could overhear a neighbor talking. It means to secretly listen to other's conversations.

Question #2: Taking three wickets on three bowls in the game of cricket is cause for celebration. When the bowler does this his team gives him a hat to commemorate it. What is the phrase that comes from this? 

See the answers by clicking here.