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“I Can’t See What You Are Saying...”
By Scott V. Black
Hello Empower U Leadership Team.
I just returned back from Sacramento working
with Team 545. It was a small class; we started
with 8 and ended with 7. Those 7 had a great
experience and are back in their worlds living
their lives like they matter.
One of the things I love about teaching is that
I am constantly learning as I continue to
facilitate Leadership Awakening and Leadership
Adventure. This weekend I was again reminded
about the saying, “What you are doing speaks so
loudly, I can’t hear what you are saying.”
We have all heard the saying, “A picture is
worth a thousand words.” I want you to consider
that we speak about 120-140 words per minutes.
So based on the first sentence, one picture — or
one action — is the equivalent of 6-8 minutes of
non stop dialogue.
The gentleman who quit on Team 545
made the commitment to give 100%. He wrote in
his reports that he was, “going to take more
courses like this one to get outside of his
comfort zone.” Then, at break before the Eulogy
process he disappeared… not one of his team
members knew where he went… poof.
He refused to “run into” the room like we do in
our classes, demonstrating a sense of
urgency. Each time the door opened 7 ran in and
one walked in. He got up for his speeches and
said three sentences and then stood in silence.
He wouldn’t project… when this happens I see dead people!
Nothing got to him, so nobody could get to him,
including Mr. Black. He is right in thinking
that I can’t make
him do anything. However, he wasn’t openly
resisting, he was not combative, he was not even
upset. He was pretty comfortable and relaxed.
What a great reminder to me to watch actions
rather than listen to words.
What you're doing speaks so loudly
I can’t hear
what you are saying.
Andrew Carnegie put it this
way. “As I grow older, I pay less attention to
what men say. I just watch what they do.”
Jane Goodall
said this, “We could change the world
tomorrow if all the millions of people around
the world acted the way they believe.”
Benjamin Franklin simply said, “Well done is
better than well said.”
One of the greatest book ever written
is filled with hundreds of action words —
ask,
seek, knock, look, pray, go, stop, humble
yourself, follow, leave, forgive, repent.
I see so
many people sitting around not taking
action… talking the talk, but not walking the
walk! As Bob Moab puts it, “You can’t leave
footprints in the sands of time if you are
sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave butt
prints in the sand of time?”
What Is Leadership?
In our leadership classes we are constantly
mulling over, considering, maybe even
pontificating on the values and virtue of
leadership.
The great thing is that all of our
training is experiential so we don’t just sit
around and philosophize and theorize, we test
them in the “lab” of the classroom, and then we
expand them into our lives by asking, “What are the
benefits you are receiving from this training
and HOW WILL YOU APPLY what you're learning to your personal and
business life?”
I have scoured the great minds on leadership and
read as much as I can about the topic and those
qualities that a great leader should possess.
It comes down to this,
leaders possess a power over themselves and
others. They lead, guide, inspire… and in doing
so take us to
places we have never been to before.
That is
leadership defined. That is what you all
experienced in Leadership Awakening and
Adventure. People leave the trainings on fire
for their life. They are going to change the
world, one person at a time.
The reason you feel
that good is because of all the things you did
in class.
The feelings were a direct result of the journey
that you were on for those 3 days. You
worked hard, you pushed and fell down… and then picked yourself up, dusted yourself off and hit
it again.
Action = Power
The definition of power is knowledge put into action. Look at the
payoff for your action in Leadership Awakening
and Adventure. The process works, as long as you
use it! In class as in life, the results you get
are based on what you do.
So today,
at work and at home, what are you doing? How
have you taken action? What new things have you
taken care of since your Awakening or Adventure?
How much of the information in your manuals
have you looked through so you could implement
those pieces that you thought about in class?
What are you doing today to keep that fire alive
from Leadership Awakening? What are you doing to make it matter
that you lived on this planet…
Remember, when you live
your life like it matters… it does!
People leave class on fire, ready to take on the
world… and it's only because of all the things they did.
We
tell them it won’t last forever, we suggest
tools and we give homework and suggest they
continue the process in Adventure. I really
believe one of the best things we can do for a
graduate is to help them put other graduates
around them.
Making It Last
Too many people work so hard in class and then
they seem to act like it will always be there.
They don’t go to Adventure, they don’t go on
staff, they don’t put other graduates around
them, they don’t share our training with anybody
else, they treat it like it should be kept a
secret…
Ask yourself,
are
there areas in your life that you have been
doing the same? Have you just been talking about making a
difference, talking about “living it,” about lightening others’
burdens, giving back to someone who is in need,
sending a starfish through class?
What are you doing… because doing makes it matter.
How are
you taking your time, your actions, your dollars
and making them lighten someone’s load, leave
the world a bit better?
I was recently reminded that
people need vehicles to live out the commitments
and passion for giving back and making a
difference. It is not enough to talk about it.
The time is now for us to all do something about
it. There are so many crisis in this world
today; Sub-prime, financial, social,
educational, presidential.
The time is now to be
involved in our world, we all need you.
The world is not moved only by the mighty shoves
of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the
tiny pushes of each honest worker.
~
Helen Keller
The world needs us to keep our commitments and
move through these crises with the same pattern
that we used in our intensive training. To be
committed, to be single mindedly focused, to be
passionate, to be enthralled with a vision, to
be on purpose, to be a part of a great team…
Shakespeare was mistaken, “To
be or not to be…” is
not a question, it is a choice, a commitment…
It is the decision to
be involved, to be out there, to be living your
life like it matters…
Some of you might be
saying… HOW?
I am glad you asked because this
newsletter is here to help. Let’s re-light our
candles by taking action and making a
difference. I firmly believe, “Givers Gain.” I
experience this again and again in all of our
trainings.
Success is nothing more than a few simple
disciplines practiced everyday.
~Jim Rohn
Let me give you a couple of ideas for you to be
with like minded people and make a difference in
the lives of others.
The 3% Team
In Sacramento a group of
graduates has created a “recharge”
organization. They call it The 3% Team. If you
read further through the newsletter you will
read about what they are doing.
They put
together a great video so you can see their
vision and they'd love to have you join them so that this vision
can be a reality. We liked the video so much we
put it up on the web site. You can see it by
clicking here.
Other Ways To Make A Difference
As bad as things are here in this country, so
many have it far worse in other, less fortunate
countries.
A good friend of mine, Father Israel,
works in Africa with children and orphans. He
has a heart for people, children and God.
There
is a section below in the newsletter about Father Israel
that includes an email we recently got from this
wonderfully compassionate leader.
He chooses to
be uncomfortable so that when he crosses the
“finish line” of life, his party will not be a
party of one. One way you can help make a
difference in the world is to support people
like Father Israel in their work.
Make It A Party!
Anybody can succeed, that is easy.
But how many people are you bringing with you? A
party of one is no party!
Take action, re-charge
through giving back to others and feel the
selfishness of giving… It feels really good!
Leading By Example
Yes, action is a characteristic of a leader, but
there are many more.
People ask me all the time
about leadership and how it shows up
in the everyday circumstances of life. I am
always honored to know that my opinion carries
value and credence with others.
What we teach at
Empower U is practical. I was just interviewed
by David Wright with Insight publishing. Insight
is the company publishing, “Discover your inner
strengths.” It will be my second book and it
familiarizes the country with Empower U and
Scott V. Black.
There will be 11
experts and teachers in the field of leadership,
success and personal development. Each of us
are submitting a chapter. Other contributors
include some very well
known writers and speakers: Ken Blanchard, Brian
Tracy, Stephen Covey and others like me, who
most people have never heard of, but who are very good at
what they do.
When I do these radio, phone and TV interviews,
I sometimes get asked for my opinion in current
events. I get asked for practical applications
that the normal person can apply to their life,
and also identify in the world we live in. They
see practical applications as a validation for the
true value of our
training.
Making It REAL... By Knowing What You Want
There are lots of practical things
you can do. There are some excellent ideas in this very
newsletter. Choose something and take action.
But always
make sure that the action you are taking is in
the right direction. Focus in the direction
of what you DO WANT, instead of what you
DON’T
WANT.
Even when people think they know what they
want, they don’t truly know. I want to have
peace, I want to be happy, I want change. I then
ask… what does that look like, sound like and
feel like. When I ask this, I usually hear… I
don’t know! Make sure you are clear with what
you want! Then do something about it.
Do you recall the difference between leadership and
management? Management goes in a direction
efficiently, eloquently… climbing the ladder of
change. However leadership makes sure that
ladder called change is going in the right
direction.
Make sure whatever you are doing is
moving you in the right direction. So many
people want change and want to make change. Let
me suggest that the wrong kind of change has
serious consequences.
Change that is in the
wrong direction is worse than doing nothing.
Some people are unhappy in their marriages so
they walk out and get a divorce. Many times they
exchange one set of problems for another and
hurt many in the process.
The student who quit
this last weekend… he sought change too. Just
like everybody else in the class wanted to
change something in their lives. This gentleman
also wanted change… but he chose the wrong
change. His family, his company, his wife and
kids, will be paying for the change that he did.
Instead of changing his attitude, his level of
dedication, his emotions being shut off, he
opted for a different change. He changed his
venue. On break he never came back, he was gone!
“But where was I to start? The world is so vast.
I shall start with the country I know best, my
own. But my country is so very large. I had
better start with my town. But my town, too, is
large. I had best start with my street. No, my
home. No, my family. Never mind, I shall start
with myself.”
~ Elie Wiesel
In today’s political climate everybody is
clamoring about change. Be careful that the
change you vote for is not in the wrong
direction. We live in dangerous times, and bad
change when we are so close to the
precipice… well, the wrong change could put us
over.
There are a lot of companies struggling.
We pay the highest business taxes in the world.
We have seen companies that a year ago were
sending people to Empower U and doing well who
are now
struggling. Banks are going under, Ms. Fields went
bankrupt…
The wrong change can sent us down a
path we wont be able to return from. It would
be a shame that after this election a change was
brought about that forced companies like Empower
U to go out of business … that is not the change
we need.
I will get off my soap box now, the
whole point is to make sure you know what you
really want. I wonder what it would be like if
our quitter this weekend sought a different
change. What if he would have changed his
attitude, his commitment level, his level of
congruity between words and actions? That would have shown true
leadership and positive change.
What do you want to
change? Your PTA, your weight, that so many kids
are hungry, lonely and abandoned? What do you
want?
A Challenge For You To Consider
Today I challenge you to take our your manual
and re-read through your journals. I also want
you to read through the two handouts we gave you
where you had to answer those 10 questions about
your life. They are called “Rate yourself as a
leader” and “Unique Purpose.”
Use this time to remind
yourself of how you felt and what you wanted to
take action on. Those decisions are important and you will
remind yourself of what you wrote and what is
really important. Givers gain. When you give,
then you have power. That power is materialized
in you taking action!
You might still be wondering, “But What do I do?”
There are a couple of things to do listed in this
newsletter. Here are a few more that occur to
me:
-
Never doubt that in
you local area
there are many people and organizations that
need help.
-
Get involved with your church; don’t
just sit in a pew.
-
Get involved with the 3% team
in Sacramento; start your own 3% Team in your community.
-
Go on staff and give back.
Do everything in your
power to get people into the Awakening process,
so they know the possibilities.
-
Go out and
volunteer your time to get the leadership in
this country that we need.
-
Go help get an
American hero get elected who can bring real,
positive change. This is a critical election; we
have an opportunity to get the real change that
we need, before things get critically worse. Get
involved in your community, or nationally and
help get John McCain elected president.
These are just ideas, things that are important
to me. You “get to” decide what stirs you.
Whatever that may be, take
action, reach out, pull in, speak, write,
share… whatever you do, do something. What do you
want?
Remember… When you live your life like it matters-It Does!
With Passion-HBS
Scott V. Black
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