• “Words that Change... Passion” - by Scott V. Black, CEO
• Updated Leadership Adventure Dates...
• Making a Difference - Paul Damelio, Team 522
• Empower U International is Looking for Committed People to Join the Renaissance
• My Word Coach - Fish and Airplanes...

“Words that Change... Passion”

By Scott V. Black

Hello Empower U Leadership Team.

Today is the final entry in our series, “Words that Change.” Today we are going to be talking about Passion.

Passion is one of my favorite words. Of the 6 foundational words we focus on at Empower U, passion is the most notable quality that people leave our training with.

It is probably the word that brings most people to Empower U. People see their brother, sister, wife, father, co-worker on fire with some passion and they want to know, “What is different about that person?”

What is different—for most—is the Passion they are demonstrating. A renewed passion for their jobs, their personal life, their mission… It’s a great day to be alive! The Time is Now!

As leaders “Under Construction” I am constantly urging us all to continue to learn and grow. Part of that is to grow intellectually and to learn our language so we can better express ourselves and communicate better. That is why in the newsletter we do the fun section, “My Word Coach,” that is why I continue to study our language and that is why…  yo soy estudio espanol.

So let’s take a look at what the dictionary has to say about Passion:

• Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
• Strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor.
• An instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
• A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.
• The object of such a fondness or desire: Accuracy became a passion with him.
• An outburst of strong emotion or feeling: He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.
• The sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
• Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don’t quite match his passion for the game.
• The object of such love or desire.

Notice the words used to describe Passion: Powerful, compelling emotion, strong, feeling of desire, extravagant fondness, outburst, strong emotion or feeling, boundless enthusiasm…

As a matter of fact I hit the “synonym” button and this is what it showed me:

Synonyms: These nouns denote powerful, intense emotion. Passion is a deep; overwhelming emotion…

I am always working to put things in usable portions… in other words, to make these easy to understand.

We are natural born procrastinators and one of the best ways we keep ourselves from “doing” is by saying, ”I don’t know.” Often when we say we “don’t know,” we use it to justify not doing anything about it

I like to simplify things so we can stop living in “denial” and start doing something about it! So… let me paraphrase the concept of passion…  simplistically and easy to digest… Passion is the answer to the question, “What stirs you?”

Examples of Passion in Action

History is made by people who are stirred up. History books are dotted with the story of people who wanted to make a difference, people who “swam upstream,” people that used Passion to leave a legacy.

The Wright brothers were passionate about flying. Rosa Parks and Dr. King were passionate about equality. Susan B. Anthony was passionate about women’s rights. Christ was passionate about redeeming mankind. Look at most great leaders and you will find people who had strong emotions about something.

You want to talk about some people who where stirred up about something… The founding fathers and the new “Americans” who lived in the time of the revolutionary war. I found this piece on the internet a while back:

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

• Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
• Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
• Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army.
• Another had two sons captured.
• Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

• Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
• Eleven were merchants.
• Nine were farmers and large plantation owners.

Men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

(Note: You can download a copy of this piece by clicking here.)

Passion is the emotion behind the commitment; it shows in the “way” you do it…  it is the intensity of the energy invested in any undertaking!

For example, two people can have the same job. One does their job as instructed. One enjoys the opportunity to connect with others, while doing their job. It is that intensity of emotion, of being “stirred up” that makes the difference.

What Moves You?

Does anything Stir you up? Does anything “get you going?” Good or bad, right or wrong… are you stirred up about anything?

Lee Iacocca put it this way, “If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.”

In order to “give it all you’ve got,” you have to be emotionally committed. That is the essence of Passion, it is an emotional intensity committed to something, or someone. That is what I mean by “stirred up.”

This world is in need of people who are passionate, who are stirred up about making a difference, making something better. It reminds me of the old Twisted Sister song, “We’re not gonna take it.” We need some passionate leaders willing to be emotionally committed to the cause! Are you emotionally committed to anything or anyone?

Those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were emotionally committed to their cause; Freedom from Britain! They were passionate… passionate enough to give their life, liberty and their lifestyle. As Patrick Henry said, “Give me Liberty or give me death.” He ultimately did, his words and his actions were congruent. That is Passion!

Tapping Into YOUR Passion

Today as you read this article lets do a passionate reflection on our lives. What are you passionate about… what stirs you up?

Before I start teaching Leadership Awakening I get myself “stirred up.” I watch the news, I go onto ‘foxnews.com’ and I read the stories of pain, and neglect… man’s inhumanity to man. I get myself to look at some of the ills of this world, I look at MY shortcomings, where I still fall short… it stirs me.

There are too many who don’t watch the news because they say, “it is too negative.” I understand and agree, to some degree, with the concept.

However, let me suggest it might do some of us some good to start watching the news again. It would do our families, our neighborhoods, our churches, our schools… our country…  some good, if more people started watching the news again. Maybe it will “stir us up” enough to do something about it. For more people to stand up and say, “We’re not gonna take it anymore!”

Great leaders get themselves been stirred up for a cause? What are you stirred up about?

The Ride of Your Life

I used to have an employee whose job it was to enroll people into our classes. She would always have this quote at the end of her email. “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, instead it's to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming - - -WOW - - - What a Ride!” That is Passion.

Just like at the end of Leadership Awakening and Adventure… people look back and say… Wow, what a ride! Empower U International is here today because of the Passion that people leave our training with. People leave with a Passion for their families, for their jobs, for their mission… for their life.

Jesus Christ was so stirred up, he sweated blood. Do you know it is medically possible to sweat blood? I once heard that it has something to do with bursting the capillaries. Do you understand the internal intensity that it takes to sweat blood? You want to talk about passion… about someone who was stirred up…  saving humanity… Talk about a passion! That is why it is called the “Passion of the Christ!”

One thing we do in our Leadership Training is get people stirred up. We confront some of the dark realities of the world we live in, the one we participate in, the one that we have a chance to impact through our actions.

When we live our lives like they matter, they do! In order to LIVE that, we have to be stirred up. It is a tough journey and passion will fuel many a battle; fund the hard work that eventually is called ‘success.’

The Dark Side of Passion

A little side note here. Passion, this sense of being stirred up, can be used either for good or for bad. It doesn’t in and of itself possess a quality of good or bad, right or wrong. That quality is introduced by the person experiencing the passion.

If you ever saw the movie “The Mask,” with Jim Carey, you will understand. The movie was about this Mask from the Aztec’s that could make someone superhuman. One of the downsides of this mask was that when someone would wear this magical Mask, it would bring out all the qualities of the person wearing the mask.

However, the mask makes them this crazy, “cartoon-ish” looking Super Hero. If the person was good then it was done, cute and in a “harmless” way, in a good way.

If the person was evil, it was the opposite. They would wreak serious havoc and do some bad things in an easy way.

Passion is very similar; it takes on the qualities of the person directing it. That biggest factor is the “why.” The “why” behind the “what” you are doing. Why are you stirred up? Why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you on this planet? Why are you occupying that body at this time… why are you here?!

The world is full of examples of people stirred up both for good, and evil. Hitler, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Jim Jones, suicide bombers, Al-Qaeda…  these are all passionate people. Without a doubt they were stirred up, but what did they do with it?

Jesus Christ, George Washington, Mother Theresa, Ronald Reagan, George S. Patton, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy, again all passionate people. They did something that forever left a positive mark on this world. 500 years from now people will know who they were because of the way they lived their lives. When you live your life like it matters… it Does.

Passion Makes Your Life Burn Brighter…

Passion

I am love … I am desire…  I make you toss and turn at night,
Keeping you from sleep and yet-- not tired.

I am fear…  I am anger …  I can be rage!
You can experience me in Love, Laughter, Happiness, and at any age.

I was there in Auschwitz, I was there in Rome,
I was at the Sistine chapel, I am in too few a home.

It was I that sent a man to the moon.. It was I that freed the slaves..
It was I who fought the two World Wars and buried many men in their graves!

It was because of me that Christ went to Jerusalem - it was because of me that women won the right to vote.
It was because of me that our Founding Fathers wrote the constitution, and we have defended it since -- fighting battles from coast to coast.

With or without me… things will get done.
If you have me not, life can lose meaning, substance, purpose and be of little fun.

If you are lucky enough to possess me, then you shall be rewarded.
For you have found PASSION -- and the difference you make will be forever recorded!

(Note: You can download a copy of this poem by clicking here.

History is nothing more than documented proof that when you live your life like it matters… it does! Passionate people leave a lasting mark. Those that stir us to be better, do more, those that inspire us to be greater… those people are remembered.

We remember the passengers of flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Those passengers had a passion to make sure that plane did not hit the white house, or other populated center. They gave their life, they gave their passion.

Fuel Your Passion

Passion is the rocket fuel. It is what helps move beyond the mundane and disappointing. It is what sustains me when I am projecting, it is what makes me get out of bed Saturday morning to lead the first half of the final exam—even though I feel like I have been run over by a truck.

Passion is also giving it everything you have! That is originally where the ‘Heart, Body and Soul’ came from.

So many people throwing around the word passion, that I wanted to give the word a clear picture of what it looked like, sounded like… felt like. So I thought about what Passion looked like, sounded like and felt like in our training. Then it was obvious… if I take away your Heart, I take away your Body and I take away your soul… what is left? NOTHING! That is Passion… Heart, Body and Soul.

"You must back up your ambition by your whole nature, by unbounded enthusiasm and a determination to win that knows no failure."
                                      ~ Orison Swett Marden

Mr. Marden is talking about Passion. Those that get the most out of our training are those that bring the most passion to the process.

I remember the trailer for the movie “The Rookie.” The trailer shows the lead character talking with a group of kids saying, “A big part of life is just showing up. So many people never show up. So if you just show up, you are doing pretty good”… a loose paraphrase at the best, but an accurate one, none the less.

I never watched that movie because I was so disappointed with the false statement. That is one of the problems with our world today, too many people just showing up. People just doing time, punching a clock… just showing up. That is not passion, that is existence, surviving… the antithesis of passion.

Look around your environment and you will see what me and the little boy in the movie, “The Sixth Sense” see… dead people. Dead people are those still walking around, but have no passion, they are not “stirred up” about anything.

Passion or Protection?

So many people protect themselves from being too emotionally involved. There is a serious ‘downside’ to this belief system. The downside is a ‘flat line.”

Nothing gets to them. They are so grounded… nothing disappoints them, nothing fazes them, and they have no expectations so they have no disappointments.

As the robot on ‘Lost in Space” used to say, “Danger Will Robinson!”

Let me suggest that if “nothing gets to you,” then “nobody” can get to you. And I mean that in a good way. Let me suggest that if you are going to live with Passion, then some things will, and should, get to you. It takes being emotionally available to be passionate.

The potential downside is frustration, disappointment, maybe even some… ”spit flying… sweat dripping.” Yes, there is a downside… but even that is delicious… intoxicating.

I had a guy in class a few classes ago, that kept saying, “I’m not quitting. I am not going anywhere.” He wasn’t committing, he wasn’t stepping over the line… but he kept saying he wasn’t quitting.

In other words, he was showing up, he walked into class every time we opened the door. I told him that he had quit a long time ago, just because he shows up to class, doesn’t determine whether someone is committed or not. What determines whether someone is committed or not is their passion.

By the way, after the first half of the final exam, this gentleman physically quit. While doing reports, he left.

The Passion Inventory

Today, take this simple inventory:

1. What are you passionate about?
2. What are you doing about it?

What are my passions? To Live a life that honors Jesus Christ, being a physically and emotionally available father, building the HBS Retreat Center in Mansfield Texas, becoming the “Mexican” Deming, making a difference with this life I have been given… women… living in the NOW! Many passions, many emotions… so much I GET TO DO! How about you?

If you are finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning or it is hard to “keep it going,” let me suggest it is probably a “Passion” issue. If you are stirred up about something, you have no choice but to get out of bed… unless the object of your passion is lying next to you!

Passion is a pill that will cure many an ill. I have seen dead people walk into my classroom and leave two days later… alive! They discover their purpose, they see a vision, they experience commitment, they are focused, they created a team… they have a passion!

That passion sparks others to become a “starfish” that is thrown back into the waters of life. That passion is delicious, it is intoxicating… the best word to describe the sensation is crusade. Never doubt that a group of committed, PASSIONATE people can change the world… indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

I am ready to be stirred up in a positive way. How about you? Today I challenge you to go out there and make it matter that you are living in that body, at this time, on our planet. How do you do this, you might ask? That is easy… with Passion-Heart, Body and Soul. And for our Spanish speaking familia, our Latino equipo…  Con Pasion-Corazon, Cuerpo y Alma! Tu puedes hacer un gran dia!

Remember… When you live your life like it matters—It does!

With Passion-HBS

Scott V. Black
The Empower U International Leadership Team

Updated 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:

September 11-13, 2008 - Thursday through Saturday

October 23-25, 2008 - Thursday 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.

Making a Difference - Paul Damelio, Team 522

When Scott called me a week or so after my training I shared with him that I had been to a number of Leadership training courses in the past, but nothing like the training EmpowerU has put together.

The others were seminars where a trainer stood up in front of the room and conveyed their experiences to you from what ever industry they were from, drawing parallels to the industry the students were in. None of this interactive stuff that Scott's training has.

When I talked with Scott I told him that I didn't consider his class Leadership Training. I told him it seemed more like "Life Training to make you a Better Leader."

Since January when I graduated with Team 522 I have interviewed for a few different positions within my company, lost 42 lbs on my way to a total of 70 Lbs lost before I am done, and have been more excited about life than I have ever been.

As I did, after class you will start receiving e-mails from Tracy or Tami asking if you would be interested in Staffing an upcoming training class. For those of you that are local to any of the training sites I highly recommend working one as a Staff Member.

I made a point of asking to staff one of Scott's classes since my trainer was Mindy. I not only wanted to attend the training to get a different perspective (without the stress of a student), I also wanted to see a different trainer deliver the training. I have to say they both do a great job!

I found myself experiencing many of the same feelings and emotions when I staffed a class as when I did as a student with Team 522. It is a great experience to give back to others and make a difference in their experience. (Remember "Givers - Gain and Takers Lose").

I plan on Staffing another class after the first of the year and as long as I can approx. every 6 months.

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: This fish was formerly eaten during sacred times of the year. In fact, it's name means, "holy flatfish." What is the name of this fish?

Question #2: When someone takes their airplane up to or even beyond its recommended speed, aviators use this expression. It's now commonly used to mean testing the limits of what's possible. What is the phrase? 

See the answers by clicking here.