Terrorism and the Ignorant Mind–The Other Soft Target

To deny that human beings are filled with anti-social passions betrays a denial of reality and a lack of self-awareness. One has to be taught nonsense for a great many formative years to believe it. - Dennis Prager

Political correctness is about denial, usually in the weasel circumlocutory jargon which distorts and evades and seldom stands up to honest analysis. - George MacDonald Fraser

I think the greatest illusion we have is that denial protects us. It's actually the biggest distortion and lie. In fact, staying asleep is what's killing us. - Eve Ensler

How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him. - Frank Herbert

<< Yeah, I liked all 4 of them … sorry :-) >>

As the world continues to sort through the terror of Friday’s attack in Paris, with mourning, anger, fear, revenge and every other feeling sweeping over and through many people around the world, there is another interesting element developing.

It is the exposure of the uninformed mind, the mind that makes choices based on emotion and not data and then feels emboldened to step on anyone who dares to disagree.

A couple of examples ….

The press is reporting today that the mother of the three of the suicide bombers claims that her son did not intend to hurt anyone, even though he was wearing a bomb belt, was armed with an AK-47 and was with other individuals equipped in a similar way who had stated intentions to kill people.  When I shared the article (which is here Suicide bomber 'blew himself up because of stress', says Ibrahim Abdeslam's family), people on social media told me that it was clear that I didn’t have children (which is incorrect) because if I had children I would understand the mother’s statement.  Some people went on to tell me that I was wrong when I stated that the data implies that he entered the situation with intent to hurt people and they concluded by saying that we should sympathize with the mother and the bombers.

I don’t know about you but if I walked down a street in any major city in the western world wearing a bomb belt and carrying an assault rifle, I can’t imagine any police force assuming I was out for a day in the sun.

And whether or not he recanted once everything started is something only he will ever know as he died in the event.

What was interesting in the interaction with all of the people, some in public messages and some in private ones (the latter being examples of the lack of courage to share their venom publicly lest someone see them for who they are) is that they were so passionate about it.  In essence, the mother was right, they were right and I was wrong when the argument itself was irrelevant and doesn’t change the result.  None of us with the exception of the mother are even connected to the event but the passion and emotion of the uninformed and misdirected was drawing them into a fight not worth fighting and more dangerously, was inviting them to take a semi-defensive, semi-supportive stand in support of the terrorists.

Meanwhile ….

Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan recommended to Primer Minister Trudeau via a tweet (and attached letter) that “refugee initiative cannot be data / quota driven. Safety must be priority”.  The tweet is here (image of it is below).

He didn’t say no to refugee admission – he said we need to apply appropriate levels of prudence as we honor our Canadian tradition of helping those in need.  Whether this is purely political, is meant honestly or is a combination of both, I agree with executing prudently while helping those in need and so I tweeted the Premier that I agreed with his prudent statement and position..

John Riche apparently took umbrage over my support (as if I matter at all) and immediately began to taunt me over what “I was afraid of”.  Mr. Riche is a businessman in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland according to his Twitter profile:

His opening taunt to me is a tried and true technique for bullies and intimidators who use emotion over data in an effort to accomplish their objectives.  While most “normal” people wouldn’t argue with prudence as long as we honor our obligation to serve others, the misguided and uninformed have a translation problem – either what they read gets distorted before it enters their brain OR the translation arrives in their brain correctly and they intentionally, wilfully and forcefully argue using an invalid representation of it.

After a few exchanges, where Mr. Riche cited irrelevant data such as American refugee studies showing no terrorists were amongst them (which has nothing to do with the present situation, is not entirely true as presented and is an irrelevant position within the context of Canadian immigration) and where he again demanded to know what I was afraid of, I told him to go lead by example, adopt a refugee into his home and then lecture the rest of us to do more.

He disappeared after this but out of curiosity, I wondered who this was who had attempted a courage-less drive-by tweeting and so I took a look at his Twitter stream.  It proved to be informative as to the MO of the individual.

A tweet that he issued (not a retweet of someone else) stood out.  Here it is – incredibly disrespectful to a Premier – original tweet here unless he deletes it and image below:

It appears to me that insulting and taunting is his MO and that discussing things rationally, calmly and using data within the context of our present situation is not something that is of interest to Mr. Riche.  Frankly, not only would I never issue such a tweet, I would fear that issuing such a tweet to a public official would get me put on a watch list of some kind.

It also reflects poorly on organizations that he works with.  I can’t say I would want to do business with anyone who shares such opinions in this way lest I be on the receiving end of such ignorance in a business context.

The Bottom Line

While I’m not picking on Mr. Riche, the interaction I had with him highlights an important problem that we have in the western world.

How do we EVER hope to solve the problems that affect us collectively if, when differences of opinion occur, we attempt to solve them in this way, with the winner being the loudest or the person who wields the most heavy-handed communication.  I wonder also if Mr. Riche would have the courage to say the same thing while standing right in front of Premier Wall.

Civil, rational, data-centric, fact-focused dialog is essential to solve the difficulties of the world including terrorism.  The world is a beautiful place and human beings have phenomenal potential but there are some stupid, dangerous and ugly problems present that require a lot of dialog amongst a lot of great people in order to make those problems go away.

We will all live or die together on this lump of rock floating through space and so we all have a say in what happens here.  In addition to our opinions, we also have gifts, talents and strengths that can and must be brought to bear to make the world a better place.

When invited to share your mind and your ideas, bring your passion to the table as well as passion can prove to be a great motivator and convincer.

However, don’t use your passion as a hammer, otherwise you may discover that few people care about what you say ……

…. and someone may bring a larger hammer to the table.’'

And in some cases, you may merely be putting the Twit in Twitter in an ignorant, cowardly way that doesn’t bring us closer to bringing the world into alignment with its potential.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

For a little fun, I offer this whimsical piece for those who love to troll others. :-)

Success–Not Without Passion

When I am asked to partner with individuals and organizations, there are a few things that I need to see in order for me to collaborate with them.

They have to have a strong vision, mission and sense of purpose, a well-defined expression of their view of the world and their response to a need or opportunity in the world

They have to have a strategic plan with measurable outcomes.  If they don’t know where they’re going, then there is no point in setting out in the first place.

Lewis Carroll expressed it well.

In addition to a plan, they have to have tactical roadmaps that translate strategic plans into measurable goals and milestones.

They have to exhibit a propensity for intelligent execution.  The best laid plans without smart execution are just hopes and dreams.  As some say in business, there is nothing the world loves more than to snack on people’s unrealized dreams, as expressed humorously with this Despair.com poster.

It’s all classic, business 101 stuff.

There is nothing magic here.

But all things being equal, there are two things important to me that separate those who just have great ideas from those who convert their ideas into reality.

One is an appropriate balance of hubris and humility – the ability to learn from others and the acknowledgement that they don’t know it all while at the same time not being a doormat.

The other is a sense of passion – that they are willing to do whatever it takes to translate vision into success.

The latter is really important to me.

Many times when people come to me for help, I may say “no” or “maybe” even when the opportunity looks very appealing.

It’s not because I don’t believe in the opportunity.

It’s because I want to see how badly they want it.

I want to see how they respond to “no”.

Do they say “Ok” and walk away with their tail between their legs?

Or do they say “I don’t accept no.  Here’s why I believe that we need to do this.”

If their passion is not burning hot enough to make their dream a reality, how do I know that they will do what it takes, especially when times get tough?

It’s when times get tough that appropriate strategy, strong plans, intelligence, sharp execution, market opportunity and luck may not be enough.

It’s during those times that passion may save the day, providing the fuel that allows one to persevere through adversity.

It may save your business.

It may save your Life.

As Nelson Mandela once said:

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

But make sure one balances passion with intelligence, otherwise one ends up proving the wrong side of Francois de La Rochefoucauld’s belief when he said:

Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.

Be passionate about your business and your Life.

A Life well-lived demands nothing less.

Create a great day – because merely having one is too passive an experience.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Jack Layton–Profile of Passion

Many Canadians and fans of politics were deeply saddened today by the passing of Jack Layton, Leader of the Opposition, at the young age of 61.  I am one of them.

While I wasn’t a big fan of the NDP platform and I didn’t admire everything that Mr. Layton held dear to his heart in terms of policy and political beliefs, there was one thing that I have always respected him for, going back to when he served on the Toronto city council.

I have always respected Mr. Layton for his passion, drive and belief that we can create a better world.

We live in a world that seems to have more complexity then ever, despite the fact that we have access to more knowledge and easier, faster ways of sharing this knowledge than ever, things which should contribute to solving the world’s challenges.

However, I often wonder if our processes around strategy and tactics, problem solving, knowledge sharing and such are not as effective as they should be because we don’t have enough passion to create the will that would enable us to solve these issues.

Mr. Layton had an abundance of passion and it was infectious to those who served with him.

His passion drove him to make a difference in his community, in his province, in his country and in the world.  His belief in creating a better world was best exemplified in this quote by Tommy Douglas that he often signed his emails with:

“Courage my friends, ‘tis never too late to build a better world.”

And while we may not agree with some or all of his beliefs, I believe that if each one of us had the same level of passion that he did for the things that we thought were important in the world, the world would be a better place.

And this, above all, may be the legacy that Mr. Layton leaves behind – in a world filled with apathy and indifference, that passion to make a difference is essential to actually making a difference.

A difference that the world needs.

He was the perfect embodiment of the following quote by Howard Thurman, author and educator:

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Mr. Layton followed his heart to make a difference and to inspire others to do so as well.

Are we doing the same?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Passion is Great … Most Times

I have been watching the Canadian election unfold on Facebook, Twitter and other media and frankly, the process that is evolving is somewhat disappointing.

The passion that both candidates and voters are exhibiting is quite cool.  Having a passion for what one does and believes in is an essential part of Life.  In some parts of Canada, such as my native Newfoundland and Labrador, politics is right up there with religion as a way of Life.

However, once one gets past the passion in search of the facts that can make a voter an informed one, things become a little murky.

I have asked different people in various forums to explain how a policy by insert federal leader name here would be paid for or is better than an opponent’s idea and in over 90% of the cases the result is the same.

No matter whose policy I name, the people defending that person deliver a litany of personal remarks against the followers of any of the other leaders.

But alas, very rarely does anyone just answer the question in a fact-based way.

This suggests that the rabid followers of the different political parties don’t know the facts (either that or the facts are so secret that the rest of us aren’t privy to them).

It has often been said that people who don’t know the facts or run out of facts or justification for an opinion often resort to personal attacks or insults with the hope of bullying their opponent into submission.

This happens in business, politics and Life itself – a sad, unfortunate truth that prevents us from reaching our ultimate potential in so many aspects of society.  Many times, the loudest person carries the day over the smartest one.

The great challenge is that when we use passion alone to steamroll over people instead of choosing to be informed and using this knowledge to convince others, there’s a good chance we turn many people away whom we may have convinced to become a partner or collaborator with us.

When this happens, the result we are trying to bully others into creating for us becomes even more elusive.

And instead of creating a desired result, we may end up creating the very result that we complained so hard about needing to avoid in the first place.

Ahhhhhhh …. I really am a dreamer, am I not … to be trapped in the belief of a utopian world where:

• We seek knowledge to be informed and educated …
• We use logic and facts to respectfully make a point or to convince an opponent …
• We value the opinions of others, even when we disagree with them …
• We embrace the notion that no matter what happens, we are all in this together, to make our world a better one for all of us …
• We find a way to wrap passion around all of this so that we push ourselves and others to be the best we can be without wasting our potential by crushing each other.

I guess I am more an idealist than I thought. :-)

As a Canadian who has lived abroad for a long time, the one thing I worry about is the level of disrespect I see between Canadians who are passionately promoting their choice while using their passion to trash the opposition.

Facts are often absent or seem irrelevant – steamrolling others seems to carry more weight.

Canadians often espouse their passion but also their humility, pointing at their neighbors to the south and saying “thank goodness we don’t act like them at election time”.  Hmmmmm …. are we sure about that?

I believe that the longer one stays uninformed about the workings of the world, the greater the chance the world will move in a direction that we may not be happy with.  By not choosing to understand it, our ability to influence it diminishes over time.

And this above all, worries me.

How about you?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

My Musings-in-a-Minute entry for “Passion is Great … Most Times” is the same as this entry and can be found here.

Answering the Call of Your Holy Discontent

I receive hundreds of emails a day with questions covering a broad spectrum of subjects, ranging from corporate strategy, technology architecture, leadership and everything in between.

However, one email this morning made me stop and think.

While it was quite lengthy, the person I will only identify as John in New York City asked me this:

Why do you do what you do and why do you do it with such passion and conviction?

John was referring to my passion for tackling things that needed to be addressed in the world instead of taking the safe, quiet road that many prefer to travel.  After all, he notes:

… with your strong belief in the unlimited good in the world, isn’t it more rewarding and easier to simply write about the good stuff than to be always be contemplating the stuff that needs to be fixed.

I agree with John that it is VERY important that we embrace the great things we see in the world and to promote the great people, results and events we see all around us.  By doing so, we take comfort in knowing that the world is a much more positive, inspiring place than the media would have us believe.

However, I see all of the great stuff as a teaser, as something to multiply in both effort and results.

So when I see 10 strong leaders who inspire organizations and people, I want to see 1,000 more just like them.

When I see us feed 10 hungry people, I’d like to fill the bellies of 10,000 more.

When I see technology used to enhance society, I want to see it amplified to enhance society all that much more.

While promoting great people and results is VERY important, oftentimes the only people who hear the message are the ones already achieving great results or the ones who would like to accomplish something similar but they believe they cannot.

In such instances, the ones who need to hear the message or need to be shown how to share their gift, whether it be one of hope, inspiration, knowledge, love or making a difference in the world will not receive what they need; that which allows them to share their gift in the greatest way possible.

When this happens, many of the hungry remain hungry.

Many of the corporations in need of stronger leadership continue to produce less than optimal results.

Society continues to not embrace technology as effectively as it should for the betterment of all.

Governments continue to lose sight of the fact that they exist for the people and not the other way around.

We all pay the price for this, which is why we need to own the solutions.

We need to shine a bright light on those who inspire us, who teach us and who encourage us to stretch ourselves constantly to make a difference in the world.

We need to thank them and honor them.  But we need to remember as we honor them at various functions that it’s like preaching to the converted.  Those present are already making a difference. We need to reach out to the unconverted, to help them see a better way also.

And so I wonder if the best way we can honor those who inspire us is to improve upon their execution and results - to make an even greater difference in the world with the gifts that we have.

If we rest on our laurels (or someone else’s), we can take comfort in the fact that someone has made a difference.  We can and should always be proud of what has been accomplished.

But we should remember that there are still many great things remaining to be accomplished, despite the message from many people that everything is “under control” and “your help is not needed”.

Passionate people executing with conviction often make people feel uncomfortable.  However, if we choose the comfortable route and don’t strive to stretch ourselves for the betterment of others, our greatest accomplishments will remain undiscovered.

And so, John in NYC, this is my Holy Discontent (as noted in the great book by Bill Hybels).

For all the things I have managed to accomplish with the help, inspiration and support of so many wonderful people, there are still so many people who need help. 

With this in mind, I believe that we need to:

• passionately ask intelligent questions
• challenge ideas that have room for improvement and growth
• collaborate aggressively
• share unconditionally.

We need to move forward with passion and conviction to make the greatest difference we can with the time we have remaining.

And remember this:

EVERYTHING WE DO MATTERS

The results of everything we do become our ultimate legacy.

There is a quote incorrectly attributed to Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. patent office in the 19th century where he is alleged to have said "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

If we believe that everything that can be done to improve the world has been done, then we should stop trying to make a difference now.

However, I don't believe this is the case.

Do you?

In service and servanthood, passionately.

Harry

To see my Musings-in-a-Minute version of “Answering Your Holy Discontent”, please click here.

O Passion, Where Art Thou?

Para leer este blog en español por favor pulse aqui.

I’ve been feeling lately like I have been working double-shifts in the ER.

Many of the patients who have been admitted haven’t been in any type of accident.

They are suffering from what I will define as deficientia passio – passion deficiency syndrome.

As each patient is rolled in, a quick assessment is usually all that is required.  I grab the passion defibrillator, yell out CLEAR and zap them with the passion they need to make a difference in the world.

Ah, if it were only that easy.

A lot of wonderful people have come my way lately whose passion is either gone, never manifested in the first place or manifests in destructive ways instead of constructive ones.

The reasons are many, I’m sure.  We can can all psychoanalyze the many reasons – fear of this or that, bad life experiences, the stress of living in the 21st century, etc.

All I know is that when it comes to making a real difference in the lives of ourselves and others, when all things are equal;  opportunity, networks, intelligence, etc., there are two things that will separate those who can’t or won’t from those who do.

The ones who ultimately get it done exhibit ferocious amounts of passion but do so with an inner humility that allows the passion to be directed in a positive manner.

I have worked with a number of business leaders lately who exhibit one or more of the following symptoms of deficientia passio.  If you have any of these symptoms, please see your “passion therapist” right away.  The symptoms may appear similar to one of the following:

1. People who wonder why their team doesn’t seem to care about exceeding expectations (or even meeting them).  Meanwhile, the team leader doesn’t seem to care either, focusing on irrelevant things but getting upset when their team is not focused.
2. Leaders who hope that their company can survive while telling everyone that they are doing everything they can.  At the same time, offers to inject capital or help of any kind are spurned and some go off on vacation at the wrong time, with the scarcity mindset of “the company is lost anyway so I will take one more vacation on someone else’s dime”.  These people also embrace the concept that to own all of nothing is superior to owning a smaller piece of a much larger entity.  Passion to protect ego is stronger within these people than passion for success.
3. People who lead organizations or groups with little or no communication, have meetings with no purpose or have no clearly established vision, mission and goals.  These leaders will lament ad nauseum about how their people won’t get engaged or are worthless.  How can they get engaged – the team either doesn’t know how to get engaged, what they should engage in or why they should even bother?
4. Leaders who demand respect from the environment while at the same time, perform acts that violate most acceptable HR principals.  “My people are professionals”, these leaders reason, “they should be able to do as I say and not as I do”.
5. People who are in constant “hurry up and wait” mode, right up to the final demise of their team, committee or organization.  These are the people who exhibit less passion for their team and their purpose than the people who are called in to help them.  They are the ones who will ask for help or money but when it is offered to them, take weeks to respond.  Weeks later, the cry for help comes again and is even more desperate.  The offers of help go out again and again there is silence.  The cycle continues for a while until suddenly there is long-term silence.  A year or so later, you run into this person and they tell you the sad story that everything collapsed because of the fault of everyone but them.  They in fact snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
6. People who constantly talk about the need to improve themselves or their company.  They never make any progress towards improvement but they will meet with you forever and never do anything themselves.  Some even get angry when you won’t do it for them – that somehow you must be more passionate about them than they are.
7. Leaders who demand strong values of respect, honesty, collaboration, etc. and yet do everything to undermine these values.  Eventually the team members get disgruntled, performance levels fall, team members leave and the leader blames all the problems on the team members. 

I guess I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t add that other symptoms also include dry-mouth, headache, stomachache, a sense of fatigue, a sense of hyperactivity, constipation and diarrhea.  It seems that all diseases and the medications that treat them include these symptoms also!

There are amazing opportunities all around us.  There are more than ever, despite the projection of gloom and doom.

We only come this way once.  We get one whack at whatever our purpose is and then we are gone.  In the grand scale of things, our limited time on this earth is a blip that doesn’t even register within the context of time in the Universe..

However, that blip has huge potential within the context of our lives and the people around us.

We all have different impacts on this earth.  Some of us live quiet lives and impact a few people.  Some impact a lot of people but still do it quietly.  Others prefer to be “out there”, using their gifts in a more noticeable way.

Whatever we do, we need to make sure our passion is engaged. 

Our passion changes our result from good to excellent.

It is contagious.  A strong passion brings other people into your circle to help  you achieve that which you are striving towards.  Lack of passion is equally contagious and can kill projects (and sometimes people).

When Life gets tough as it always does on occasion, passion (with other things) helps us to move forward.

A lot of people are afraid of passion.  I’ve been told that my passion is intimidating.

That’s fine – don’t waste your time trying to make them passionate.  You will burn yourself out and upset them at the same time.

Find others who are equally or more passionate.  This is not always easy.  However, when it comes to finding passionate people to engage, remember the law of the 4 SWs.

Some will

Some won’t

So what ….

Someone’s waiting.

St. Augustine wrote:

The fire you wish to enkindle in others must burn in yourself.

Find your purpose.  If you don’t know how to do that, send me an email.  I’ll help you find it. 

Why would I do that? 

Because the world needs your passion for success, excellence and contribution.  It needs you to share your talents, knowledge and strengths and to do so with as much enthusiasm as you can muster.  It needs you to light the fire of passion in others as well.

A world of apathy and indifference is a world that will ultimately collapse.  Read your history books – organizations and nations have fallen when leaders either didn’t have passion or their passion was misdirected.

As Earl Nightingale once said:

Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.

Be passionate.

Associate with passionate people.

Make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.

Do it with the best of your ability.

Make the most of your time.

After all, when it comes to time:

• We are born with a finite amount allocated
• We don’t know how much is remaining
• Once it is burned, it is gone forever

Now if you will excuse me, I have to run.

Another patient has been rolled in and it looks like a really bad case of deficientia passio.

<<Ok … I need 10 ccs’ of purpose here, 20 cc’s of legacy definition and 30 cc’s of enthusiasm …. and get that passion defibrillator here … stat.  C’mon people, move it  – this person’s in trouble.>>

Yours in service and servanthood – passionately.

Harry

For other musings about passion, please check out:

Check Your Passion at the Door

A User’s Guide to Passionate People

For my Musings-in-a-Minute version of “O Passion, Where Art Thou”, please click here.

Para leer este blog en español por favor pulse aqui.

A User’s Guide to Passionate People

Para leer este blog en español por favor pulse aqui.

I have been humbled and blessed by the responses to my previous blog “Check Your Passion at the Door”.  I thank everyone for responding with such passion.

One of the things that was interesting with the responses were the number of people who resonated with the blog and up to the point of reading the blog, were afraid to turn their passion loose.

With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to produce a user’s guide to help people understand passionate people – whether they are the passionate person or they work with a passionate person (in either case, doubting their sanity or the sanity of someone else).

Some immediately apparent things about passionate people.

Passionate people ……..

1. Often drive us crazy with their insatiable energy and tenacity (that’s ok – they think they are insane sometimes also).

2. Are maniacal in purpose and may disturb us by being more focused on the objective than we are – and the objective is ours, not necessarily theirs.

3. Aren’t very good at accepting “I don’t want to do it”, “I can’t do it”, or “We shouldn’t do it”.  In fact, forcing that on them will convert the passionate person into a testy, passionate person.

4.  Are difficult to debate because they have every angle covered (much to our chagrin and frustration).  They can actually debate us into a corner using our own data and logic and so we eventually respond with anger – we have nothing else left to defend our position.

5. Are impatient, having already figured out (at least in their own mind) what the solution is and wonder why no one else can see what they believe to be obvious.

6. Can be frustrating to work with because of their singular focus on solutions.

7. Do everything to extremes, to the admiration and chagrin of others.

8. Are direct or blunt in a world that suggests that directness hurts too many feelings.

9. Are easily frustrated with a world that doesn’t engage at an energy level acceptable to them.

10. Flash to anger quickly but calm down quickly also.  Time is too short for grudges although their anger, when visible, is intense and sometimes frightening.

11. Put their foot in their mouth with fair frequency.  They aren’t afraid to try something new with little data, which can make them seem reckless.

12. Are quick to point out discongruence and inconsistency – they are the child who yells out that the emperor is not wearing any clothing (not always a welcome action when we want something to quietly disappear).

13. Have imaginations that can be frightening in breadth and depth, all the while being extremely creative (sometimes unnervingly).

14. Are naturally curious and like to explore things from all angles.  Having done so, they may come up with a lot of suggestions for just about anything.  They are all about unlimited possibilities, which can frighten some people.

Sounds rough, doesn’t it?  Let’s explore passionate people a little deeper.

Passionate people ……..

1. Love to collaborate, inviting others to participate in their projects.

2. Love to learn and ask a lot of questions (even if that makes us feel that they are questioning why we did something, when in fact they are learning, not judging).

3. Love to share – projects, life experiences, stories – anything.

4. Laugh easily and frequently.

5. Weep for others – more than we know (even the perceived tough guys).

6. Have hearts that are afflicted by everything they see, gripped by the need to do things for others and seized by a sense of urgency that seems to disrupt our “slow and steady” world.

7. Are more delicate and easily wounded than people realize, although they shake this off quickly because they know that someone else hurts more.

8. Seek solutions to everything, even when it is none of their business or outside of their sphere of influence.

9. Look up at the sky when no one is looking and ask “Why me?”

10. Pray to a Higher Power for strength …. sometimes they ask for help … sometimes they plead …. sometimes they yell.

11. Know that to try to fix something is better than to look the other way.

12. Expose their heart and inner spirit to many people at their own risk.  To do so creates an opportunity for trust – not as common a trait in the modern world as it used to be.

13. Are often unusually perceptive, which is not always welcome or often makes people feel uneasy (since none of us wants to feel stupid).

14. Are disarmingly transparent.

15. Are perpetually restless, always alert and thinking, which is not always welcome in a world where fresh ideas often expose apathy, indifference or incompetence.

16. Seem to reach out to us just when we need someone – how do they do that anyway?

17. Are more humble than we realize – we are too busy criticizing them to notice their humility.

18. Often offer help unconditionally with no strings attached.

19. Either have a passion that burns very deep and silently, with occasional manifestations (public or private) or are in a constant state of visibly manifesting their passion.

20. Don’t exercise their passion for obvious rewards.

How about the world that the passionate person lives in?

Passionate people ……..

1. Believe that every problem has a solution and that they shouldn’t give up until it is found, exhausting people who prefer to go find something easier to solve.

2. Believe that the world is filled with the magical, not the mundane.

3. Often feel alone because they absorb a lot of negativity or abuse by leading the way with their passion, often venturing into unknown or dangerous territory.

4. Have a lot of people who want to ride their coattails, as these people are afraid to turn their own passion loose and prefer to let someone else take the risk.

5. Experience a personal journey that is not an easy one.  There are no shortcuts.

6. Sometimes wonder, after they have helped the world, why it is that when they cry out for help when they are overwhelmed, nobody answers the call.

7. Live in a world that often misunderstands the motives of the passionate person.  After all, why would someone put so much energy into something or someone seemingly not important to them?

8. Have experienced many things, which is why they have a passion to help others.  They may not always share their history, their painful moments or their victories but they have them.  Don’t tell them they don’t understand unless you know they don’t – they may have experienced more then you ever will.

9. Have led or are leading very busy or complex lives that blow our minds.  How do they find the time to do so much for others?

By why do they do what they do?

They do it because they are wired to the core with love – an unending, abundant supply of love that they absorb from everything around them and which they channel to those who need it – even when the person receiving it resists it or doesn’t understand why someone would do such a thing.

Passionate people are a conduit for love.  They don’t hold it in – they allow it to flow through them.

They have too much love to contain within.  This love needs to find a home or the passionate person will explode with unfulfilled purpose.

They are intent on other people experiencing this love in different forms.  They want to help others feel it, incubate it and share it with others.

Sure, passionate people can drive us crazy.  But whose fault is that; the passionate person or the person who fails to recognize how this limitless energy can be used - the phenomenal potential created by the passionate person?

Remember – splitting an atom correctly can produce electricity for a lifetime – doing it poorly produces a nuclear explosion.

The atom is just sitting there, filled with potential.  It’s what we do with it that produces a positive or negative result.

I wonder if we need a 12-step program for passionate people.  It’s not to help them quash the energy that runs deep within them.

It’s so that they can share that which fuels them with others who have a passion inside that has yet to be released. 

It’s so that they can help others ignite and free the passion that yearns to find fulfillment in each of us. 

Once that passion has been released and allowed to flow, each of us would be invited to step into world that we would perceive in a different way.  A world filled with possibilities.  A world filled with opportunities to live passionately, to love unconditionally, to learn, share and to leave a legacy to others.

Maybe passionate people aren’t so bad after all.

What do you think of such a 12 step program?

I’d like to open the meeting.

Hello.  My name is Harry and I am a passionate person.

It is very nice to meet you.

Yours in service and servanthood – passionately.

Harry

Dedicated to some very passionate people, some of whom haven’t completely unleashed their passion on us.  God help us all when they do.  :-)

• Jonathan S.
• Leslie G.
• Roberto L.
• Casey W.
• Jim G.
• Richard G – rest in peace, my friend.
• Barry G.
• Mac P.
• Shauna S.

Para leer este blog en español por favor pulse aqui.

Check Your Passion at the Door

I was thinking the other day of a sign I saw on a developed beach many years ago.  I don’t recall the exact verbiage on the sign but it went something like this:

Beach Rules

No ball playing

No Frisbee playing

No swimming

No picnics or food consumption

No bicycles on boardwalk

No animals permitted

Enjoy the beach – it is here for your enjoyment

I remember reading this and laughing at the irony.  However, after I laughed, I noticed that the beach was also pretty much empty.  The intention by the owner had stifled any opportunity for most people to find fulfillment and therefore they stayed away regardless of what the owners thought the beach could provide for people.  People went elsewhere where their passions around beach usage could be explored and enjoyed.

The other day I was re-reading Donald R. Keough’s “The 10 Commandments for Business Failure” and I wasn’t laughing.   As I was reading this, I was thinking about a number of groups, business units and volunteer groups, that were unable to gain traction and momentum and they were on my mind as I read the book.

For those who haven’t read this great book, the 11 commandments (yes, there are 11) that Keough believes are embraced by people intent on snatching failure from the jaws of victory are as follows:

1. Quit taking risks

2. Be inflexible

3. Isolate yourself

4. Assume infallibility

5. Play the game close to the foul line – blur moral/ethical lines

6. Don’t take time to think

7. Put all your faith in experts and outside consultants

8. Love your bureaucracy

9. Send mixed messages

10. Be afraid of the future

11. Lose your passion for work, for life

For the sake of my thoughts today, I’m going to rename number 11 to read:

11. Lose your passion - or allow someone to take it from you

After re-reading this book and digesting its wisdom yet again, I stumbled upon a short half-page article on the web by Dr. Tom Cocklereece where he focused on the 11th commandment and discussed ways that churches are choking the passion out of people to make a difference to their church.  His brief article really resonated with me.

Dr. Cocklereece posits that if you really want to fail, then lose your passion – lose your optimism that the impossible is not only possible but is probable if your passion is strong enough.

He goes on to discuss the great idea killers of our society today, including the perennial favorites “that’s good enough.”, “that’s not my job.”, “I don’t care.”, “I’m retiring soon anyway.” or the classic “we have never done it that way before.”.

Here is my favorite lately.

“Don’t rock the boat”.

It comes in many flavors but it translates into the same thing:

You represent change and change is something I fear, so I will do whatever it takes to prevent you from changing my world even if my world needs change.

OR

I would rather not change and continue to demonstrate minimal results than change and produce results.

OR

The suggestion of change represents a threat to my authority since people will discover that I am not the only source of ideas and therefore I will block your initiatives to enhance our results in order to protect my authority.

People resisting such change will discover reserves of energy that they (and you) never thought they had.  If only they had that much passion for creating more measurable, impactful results in the first place.

I think there are many times when one shouldn’t rock the boat.  For example, if a group is producing great results or results that are already meeting the expectations of the upstream or downstream people of that group, then the group should be left alone.

If the group doesn’t actually want to achieve anything, the fact that you see potential is irrelevant – they are happy and should be left alone.

If the group is outside your forte, area of influence or responsibility, then you should probably leave them alone.

If you couldn’t do any better yourself, then you should leave them alone.

However, if the group is not meeting the expectations of the mandate established for them or are violating ethical, moral or legal guidelines then they deserve to be rocked.

If you are a member of the group or a group upstream or downstream from that group and are impacted as a result of their apathy, indifference or incompetence, then the group deserves to be rocked.

If they are promoting a message or mission of “x” and are intentionally misrepresenting traction towards that mission, then they deserve to be rocked.

If they are in a mode of constantly blaming everyone and everything else for their inability to execute and some of the previous criteria apply, then they deserve to be rocked.

That’s not to say that we should be on a personal mission to be looking for people and groups who need to be shaken up.  Not only would that be be exhausting, in many situations we don’t have the right to interfere.

However, I am witnessing more and more people who are directly involved with groups plagued with apathy, indifference or incompetence, have an awareness of unethical, immoral or illegal activities within those groups or have a knowledge of significantly better ways of delivering results and yet are choosing to look the other way, even if they know that people upstream or downstream from that group are being adversely impacted.

Looking the other way would be bad enough if they looked away and forgot about it.

However, they are consumed by what they are witnessing and tell people privately about how such actions violate their psyche based on some personal standard.  Publically, they claim to have no issues or concerns. 

However, their passion for correcting things is just talk.  For some reason, their passion will not carry them towards taking action.

They do this to protect personal or business interests, appearances, reputation (fearing the “why did you allow this to go on so long” question), friendships, etc.

“I don’t want to rock the boat”, they say, all the while suggesting it is clearly important to them because they can’t stop talking about it or better – they are constantly imploring you to carry their fight for them.

My thought to them in return:

“Isn’t it better to rock the boat then watch it sink?”

Maybe rocking the boat will slosh the stagnant water out of the boat, enabling it to ride higher in the water.  Maybe some excess cargo that is weighing the boat down will get sloshed out as well.

It was expressed to me recently that I should tone down my passion for excellence and results so that I don’t offend others in a particular group.

What’s wrong with asking those people to pick up their passion for excellence and results so that I am not offended or so that the people directly affected by their actions are not disappointed or offended?

If they are offended that their track record for producing no result is being challenged, perhaps they deserve to be offended.

Don’t the users of their product or service deserve the best result possible?

Why do we accept a lackluster result as acceptable under the guise of not offending someone?

In a world of political correctness, we are often cautioned not to offend the person not producing or contributing because “everyone is doing the best they can”. 

However, sometimes we need to gently point those people in a different direction, where they can produce a better result than where they are.  They will probably be happier anyway once they are in a place where their contribution is more in line with their abilities.

As Donald Trump once said, we need to be careful that we don’t get caught up in a world where “we reward people just for showing up”.

In a world where our ethical, moral and legal guidelines are constantly being evaluated and many times being relaxed, we need to start demanding a higher standard, not accepting a lower one.

What’s wrong with asking the frequently avoided questions, to use a term I first heard my friend Steve Bannister use?

Let’s start asking more questions.

Questions about passion.

Questions about purpose.

Questions about measurable outcomes.

Questions about ethics, morals and legalities.

Questions about achieving results.

Questions about consistency between our stated intentions and our actual execution.

Let’s not ask the questions as in “you have the wrong answers and I have the right ones”.

Let’s ask them from the standpoint of “if we ask the questions together and challenge each other towards a higher standard then we will produce a better result and we will all learn from the process”.

Let’s not be afraid to ask questions.  When asked from the standpoint of maximizing results in a respectful, collaborative and knowledge-sharing way, there is nothing wrong with asking them and in fact, we should ask them.

We are not trying to figure out who is right or wrong or who is smarter.

We are trying to figure out how to produce the best result possible.

Let’s not lower our expectations to the lowest common denominator.

Let’s raise them to the highest common denominator.

Let’s raise them to the best result possible based on our collective talents and not limit them based on the talents of the weakest link.

The consumers of our products and services deserve and demand it.

The members of these groups and organizations deserve it.

The people who invest their time, talent and treasure deserve it.

We deserve it.

The Earth deserves it.

Our children deserve it.

This is not a license to bully others as some people who resist change or protect apathy like to do.  It’s a license to collaborate and seek the best result possible.

It’s a license to live to your greatest potential, love yourself and others, learn (and share knowledge) and to leave a legacy.

If you are not making progress, move on – there is someone else out there desperate for your passion.  The folks you leave behind perhaps need to learn additional lessons before your respective passions can be in congruence.

Remember the law of the 4 SWs:

• some will
• some won’t
• so what
• someone’s waiting.

As Dr. Cocklereece closed his article:

If we truly value something we will do it—not just teach or talk about it.

Be passionate!

Your passion is simmering – what do you want to do with it and how badly do you want to achieve it?

Do you know the answer?

Good – what are you waiting for – get on with it.

The emperor is not wearing any clothes.  Someone is waiting for you to cry out.  Don’t worry – once you step up and call it, you will be surrounded by many people happy to step up and support you.

If your passion already has a home and is producing results, I thank you.  You are a role model from which we can all learn.

Whether your passion flows unrestrained or is still evolving, I thank you for it - we all benefit from it when the time is right for it to manifest.

In service and servanthood.

Harry

PS A day after I posted this, I came across a quote by Zig Ziglar that I thought embodied this post perfectly.

“Don’t be a wandering generality – become a meaningful specific”.

Live passionately and on purpose.

May your purpose be seized by your passion – don’t let anyone put your fire out.

Embracing Each Other

I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room a couple of days ago and was observing some children playing.  The children were of mixed gender, race, language and potentially religious background.  Here is how their interaction went:

My name is yyy – what’s yours?

My name is zzz – let’s play.

It was as simple as that – authenticity in its purest form.  Once they had some context by which they could name each other, that was all that was important to having an authentic relationship.

As I have been consumed by authenticity lately, I have started a detailed review of my social network, the hundreds of emails I receive daily from this network, the hundreds of invites I receive to participate in events, etc.  While I am grateful for all of this, my recent focus on authenticity has caused me to examine much of this traffic in a closer manner.

Here are some exaggerated snippets:

I am an 18-year old student and life coach.  I believe my 18 years of life have been invaluable and I would like to share this supreme knowledge with you at a discounted monthly rate of $xxxx.  <<yes – some 18-year olds have lived a full live – however ……>>

I am an enlightened life guru with no job or life experience but I would like to show you how the Law of Attraction can earn tons of money for you.  <<meanwhile a background check on the person shows they are bankrupt and the only thing the Law of Attraction is helping them with is making money promoting the Law of Attraction>>

I am an expert on collaboration and believe that we all need to work together to make this world a better place for all.  By the way,  let me tell  you that so and so has a chance to steal some of our market so if we can find any way to discredit or sue him, there’s more money in it for us.  <<I’m sorry, tell me again how this is collaboration>>

I need your help promoting product xyz.  It’s not MLM of any type but you’re at the bottom, I’m at the top and if you put in 80 hours a week, I will get rich.  <<now there’s an incentive>>

How about gems like these?

I serve on the board for corporation xyz and I know the CEO is stealing money, but if I rat on her, people will not hire me for other boards because I will not be perceived as a team player.  <<meanwhile, that person gets paid to make public presentations about the need for transparency, honesty and accountability>>

“We provide a high quality product to the consumer”, quotes a senior executive of a major frozen food manufacturer to me on a plane one afternoon two years ago.  “That being said, I don’t let my kids eat it”. “Why not?”, I ask.  “Because I know what is in that stuff”, is the reply, the speaker oblivious to the disconnect of that statement from his assertion of the high quality of their product.

Authenticity.

I wonder:

• if the fear of being perceived as not being as in control as the next person causes some people to be less than authentic, since we don’t want to be perceived as weak amongst our peers.
• if the fear of expressing our real selves causes us to repackage our knowledge, beliefs and passions into something the masses will agree with (even if this is not in congruence with what is important to us).
• if the fear of appearing to be too normal causes people to elevate their status so as to be far beyond normal (ah, so you’re just an accountant; well, I am Master of the Galaxy – Well, I’m not just an accountant, I am really the Accountant Guru of the Universe – Oh yeah?  Well I am ……).
• if the fear of appearing to not be able to stay caught up (whether it be in knowledge, money, gadgets or other toys) causes us to overspend our resources while lack of authenticity with ourselves prevents us from putting the brakes on this self-destructive behavior.  Don’t forget – whoever dies with the most toys …… is dead.
• if the notion of exposing our heart, mind and spirit to others may also allow others to see our pain and our weaknesses, allowing them to see that we are in fact human.  Since this demonstrates that we are less than perfect, we present a false persona where we never fret, get angry or cry.
• if the fear of exposing others to our personal belief structure, including our belief in God (or other deity important to us), is so strong that we are ashamed to live by the values of our belief structure, fearing ridicule or fearing being ostracized from our peers, clients and others.
• if the fear of failure paralyzes us and prevents us from trying anything, forcing us to rely on someone else to solve our problems (which then creates frustration because they are not doing it fast enough for us).
• if our desire to climb to the top of whatever mountain we are climbing is so strong (probably to beat someone else climbing the same mountain), that we are willing to portray ourselves as something we are not just so that we can accomplish the journey as fast as we can.

I do notice one thing with these fears.  The more inauthentic someone is with themselves and others, the more they resist even discussing stuff like this.  They will even get quite angry!

I wonder why.

All of these fears seem to be creating a lot of baggage in our lives and puts us on an ever-increasingly slippery slope that leaves us exhausted financially, spiritually, physically and emotionally.  Analyze the events that have led up to any significant negative event in world history and somewhere along the way, you will find one or more events that perhaps have been tied to lack of authenticity.

I’m not suggesting that life is so simple that we can easily strip a lot of these layers away and expect to be as authentic as children.  If it were only that simple.

However, I am suggesting that the number of layers of obfuscation and complexity that we have added are not commensurate with the beauty and simplicity of life.

I wonder if we have made life too complicated and then, being inauthentic with ourselves and others, refuse to take any credit for this complexity.

How about a return to some base levels of authenticity?

Hi – my name is Harry.  I don’t want you to know me as a Wall Streeter, a business strategy guy, a networker, a writer, a speaker (or however else you know me).

I am a human being who believes in God, who is awash in gratitude for his family, friends and life experiences, who marvels at the things we do right in the world, weeps at the things we do poorly, marvels at the complexity and simplicity of nature, is amazed by the power of love, aspires to be more patient and wonders when we will finally realize our true gifts and purpose.

That’s all that is important.  That is the real me – the rest are man-made constructs that are not important.

That being said, perhaps that is not important either.  What is important is that I am a human being with unlimited capacity for loving and sharing.

So are you.

My name is Harry. 

What’s your name? 

Let’s play.

Yours in service and servanthood.

Harry

Making a Difference or Being Indifferent

On Saturday past, I had an opportunity to attend an all day workshop inside a penitentiary in Canada. The workshop, sponsored by Prison Fellowship Canada (http://www.prisonfellowship.ca), was targeted towards people who want to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by the prison system - current inmates of the prison system, ex-offenders, their life partners, their children, the communities in which they live and the people who work with all of these people.

The workshop was an eye opener for me. While I've always felt that those "inside the system" were victims in their own right, this workshop really opened my eyes as to how bleak an inmate's world looks because of a lack of commitment and support to them when they are released. We put a lot of attention into making sure they are locked up properly but put much less effort into making sure that that person, upon release, is given the chance to throw off the yoke of their past and to really being a new life filled with promise and opportunity.

This workshop is a call to action in my humble opinion. Yet when I shared information about the workshop with a number of "good Christians", I was told many times that "helping people such as offenders and their families is not part of a Christian's obligations to help others" or "there are lots of people out there already helping these people - they don't need me". For those of you who are not Christian, feel free to substitute "good human being" where you see the word "Christian".

This started my brain down the path of thinking about those who make a difference versus those who are waiting for someone else to make a difference. We often hear the cry "why doesn't someone do something about this?". We follow this cry with a feeling of disappointment when no one steps up to do something, when the truth is that the next person is also crying "why doesn't someone do something about this?". The expectation that the next person will take care of it leads to so many missed opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others.

It doesn't have to be just in the prison system. It can be anywhere - serving food in a soup kitchen, sharing your life experience in the form of youth mentoring, visiting the aged and the sick, plugging into the many incredible volunteer agencies out there, getting involved in church stewardship programs where you share your skills, knowledge and time with those who could really benefit or anything else where you are touching a life.

Many people say "my life is too busy to help others". To those I have a couple of suggestions.

1. In all of my years of working with leaders, I have yet to find someone who truly didn't have time. Their calendar may have been full, but their life was "too busy" because their calendar owned then, instead of them owning their calendar or they didn't know how to have productive days instead of busy days. See my blog entry on resources versus resourcefulness for more thoughts on this (http://harrytucker.blogspot.com/2008/02/musings-on-resources-versus.html).
2. You or someone you love may someday be in a situation that would benefit from the help provided from someone else. When you realize the gratitude you would feel as a result of someone helping you or a loved one, remember that there is someone out there right now who would feel the same way if you helped them.

We have a choice. We can choose to make a difference or we can be indifferent, waiting for the next person to fill the gap that we leave by not stepping up. Someday the person needing help may be you or a loved one. Let that thought percolate for a while and then decide what you need to do.

Remember, you don't need to set out to change the world - you only need to change one person. However, given that one action on your part could in fact change the world, the time for action is now. Don't wait for the next guy to make a difference.

To your success in making a difference.

Harry

Are you using your strengths?

I recently had an opportunity to work with a colleague to help explore her strengths and weaknesses and as a template, we used Marcus Buckingham’s Go Put Your Strengths to Work. It was an enlightening experience for me as it also provided me with an opportunity to examine my own strengths and weaknesses from an objective standpoint. In doing so, I had a few AHA moments that I knew existed but they really stood out this time as I helped my associate establish her own attributes.

How many of us REALLY know what our strengths are? Do we even know how to define strengths in general, as in what constitutes a strength? Do we perceive our actual strengths or do we have some filters on that cause us to identify things that are NOT our strengths but we think they are. Conversely, do we know what weakens us and how well do we avoid that which weakens us?

Many people feel that strengths are what you do well. However, Buckingham conjectures that strengths are not as much what you do well but that which you approach with energy and passion such that when you have completed a task that aligns with your strengths, you feel more energized than before you started. Sometimes what others perceive as strength in you may not actually be one.

I will share a personal example. Many people perceive me as a great mediator when two parties fall apart, since I am able to look at things from a different perspective, establish common ground between the parties and then use that common ground as a foundation to knit the parties back together.

However, truth be told that while I can do this very well, I get little satisfaction out of it outside of the good feeling that I met my social obligation as a human being helping another. I find the process somewhat frustrating since I see the silliness that brought people to that point in the first place and I find it draining to convince people to see what I believe to be OBVIOUS (and fight with them the whole way to help improve THEIR lives, although they see it as interfering while demanding my help at the same time). :-)

Now, if you ask me to get involved with people to help them learn the skills that they need to avoid being in that situation in the first place, that’s where you see my passion come alive. Sharing and learning proactive, collaborative living skills is a passion for me. I can go all day working with people on this subject and NEVER get tired.

In our day to day lives, we have opportunities to utilize our strengths, making every day powerfully fulfilling or we can cater to the whims and needs of others, doing things that either do not make use of our strengths and passion (or worse, appeal directly to our weaknesses – leaving us tired, bored and frustrated).

Crafting a role that aligns to your strengths takes courage. Many people could care less if what you do appeals to what makes you feel empowered. As long as they satisfy their own needs or they satisfy the needs of someone higher than them using what you provide, it is irrelevant to them whether or not you are using the skills, talent and knowledge that fuel your passion. However, it should be very important to YOU! If you don’t pay attention to this, it leads to mediocrity, poor results, lack of fulfillment and a whole slew of other issues.

What if you had a tool that showed you how to capture, clarify and articulate your strengths and weaknesses and to create a plan to execute more towards your strengths and less towards your weaknesses? Imagine if you were able to communicate to your peers and people above / below you what your strengths were and that by utilizing your strengths, the result of your work would be superior to what you are producing now and you would be a more valuable contributor to the needs of others.

Think how empowering that would be for you and for others that you work with and influence. Others would want to know your secret and as you share this process with them, they would also become more in alignment with their strengths; talents, knowledge, skills and passion for excellence and execution. More effective results would be produced and people would be far happier in the meantime.

Instead of relying on someone to do something for you even if producing it means they are at their wits end, you would find someone who actually derives self empowerment from doing it, freeing up the person you previously relied on to drive their passion in areas that make a more significant, profound impact on the team. Instead of blindly doing things for others because it is “what they want”, you can help them understand that you can provide better support if they request things in alignment with your strengths. It may be difficult to swallow at first, but it reaps huge rewards once people understand how to make each person a better contributor (based on their strengths).

You wouldn’t ask me to perform brain surgery on you. Would you ask a brain surgeon to operate on you if you know that while you are lying on the table, 95% of the doctor’s mind was on something else that REALLY fueled his or her passion? Either scenario would produce the same result.

How does one package this all together, to identify your strengths and weaknesses objectively, to create plans that use this information effectively to bring passion back to your personal and professional life and to communicate your new intentions to those around you? Start with Marcus Buckingham’s book Go Put Your Strengths to Work.

It is a powerful personal discovery process that will leave you excited (“I really like doing this and intend to do more of it”), angry (“Why have I wasted so many years doing this when I can’t stand it”), aware (“Aha, that’s why I never liked doing this before”) and self empowered (“The best way for me to contribute to those around me is by doing this”).

It’s a fabulous journey that I invite you to explore. If the process doesn’t produce deep conviction and emotion, you didn’t do it right. J If your work and your life are not producing passion to execute, to make a difference and to contribute to those around you, then it’s time to realign your Path!

Take care and be well.

Harry

Whose voice are you listening to?

I had a conversation with someone last night who had clearly lost his passion for execution. In exploring where his passion had disappeared, the following questions came up that I am repeating as best as I can remember them. They offer interesting food for thought.

Whose voice do you listen to? Do you listen to the one that drives your passion and taps your strengths or do you listen to the one that tells you what to do, even if you are bored out of your mind?

Do you listen to the one that brings excitement to your day or do you listen to the one that brings frustration?

Do you listen to the one that empowers you to help others or to you listen to the one that produces no tangible benefits for anyone?

Do you listen to the voice that is gentle but persistent or do you listen to the voice that is loud and obnoxious, suggesting it has priority because "it is the loudest"?

Do you listen to the voice that supports your agenda, purpose and passion or do you listen to the voice that drives the needs of others at the sacrifice of your own?

Failing to listen to your voice can lead to inaction, uncertainty, frustration, fear, anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction – all things that prevent you from finding true fulfillment in life (both yours and those whom you are meant to help). Always listening to other’s voices at the expense of your own needs satisfies someone else’s needs at the sacrifice of your own. I’m not saying don’t compromise because life is filled with opportunities for give and take. However, don’t squelch your own passions so that you can help others live theirs.

I am reminded of something that Rick Warren of “A Purpose Driven Life” fame wrote. He discusses the notion of SHAPE when it comes to influencing others, based on our:

Spiritual gifts
Heart
Abilities
Personality
Experiences

We have incredible talents but many times, we do not utilize them, because we are not listening to our voice, a voice that is the only thing in tune with our passions and strengths.

I am reminded of this quote from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 3:

Your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope.

As Wayne Dyer (and others) have said many times:

Do not die with the music still in you.

As for my voice, I am accelerating a personal variation of Rick Warren’s PEACE plan, namely:

Plant centers of excellence wherever possible to encourage and incubate the potential of people

Equip leaders to be more effective at the softer side of things that are important to people

Assist the poor

Care for the sick

Educate the next generation to acquire the proper self-empowerment belief systems necessary to make a difference.

Follow your voice and make a difference that aligns with your passions, your talents and your strengths.

Take care and create a great weekend!

Harry

Thoughts on living a life of passion

Good day, everyone.

As you know, I am passionate about living a life of gratitude and sharing with others. Many of us like to believe that we are passionate about things but many times we are passionate about that which we avoid as opposed to being passionate about what we want to accomplish - passionate about moving away from that which we fear rather than passionate about running towards that which we desire. Ask someone about what they passionately want and many can’t tell you – but take something away and you will discover how passionate they are about losing something.

The reasons we tend to hold back our passion are many but most of the reasons are tied up in fear and doubt (even procrastination is an incarnation of fear) ….. things like:

1. My family will think I am crazy
2. My friends will think I am crazy
3. Complete strangers will think I am crazy
4. My company will assume I am a risk to their business model and I will be fired
5. Being passionate will cause me to take risks, risks that will result in failure
6. The failure from point 5 will cause me and those I support to lose everything
7. Someone else can do it better than I can or is already doing it and I just don’t know it yet
8. I can’t afford to start being passionate about something
9. I’m too old to start getting passionate about something
10. I can start getting passionate tomorrow – there’s lots of time left in my life
11. I’ll get passionate when I get some spare time (but I’m too busy to clean up my calendar to create more time)
12. I’m not really passionate about anything
13. No one is interested in what I have to say or do
14. I’m not smart enough
15. I am not handsome / attractive enough
16. I don’t have enough education
17. If I want something, others will think I am greedy
18. If I share something, others will think I am showing off or flaunting my abundance
19. There is no one out there to help me execute on my passion
20. The area I live in is not conducive to success

The list goes on and on. Many of you will have other beliefs that are either variants of this list or additions to the list. Scientists now believe that the origins of such beliefs are rooted as much in our genetic makeup as they are in our background and upbringing.

The unfortunate part of such a belief system is that we never reach the potential that not only are we capable of but that we have a responsibility to explore as the miracle that we are: to cultivate opportunity, harvest them and share them with others.

I have spoken throughout Canada and the US regarding the notion of living a life of gratitude (one of my speeches is attached for any of you who have not read it – many have read it and I apologize to you for the redundant mailing). I believe that living a life of gratitude stokes my passion for constantly trying to raise my awareness and capabilities to new levels. This fuels my passion for wanting to help others and opening the door to allow others to help me. It is my humble belief that such a lifestyle leads to abundance in a number of areas in my life.

From speaking with you individually, I know that each of you believes in the same fundamental belief system, but we all execute on different levels of success based on background, upbringing, genetics, our perception of how empowered we are to execute (the perception being negated by the previously discussed list) and the level of passion we feel regarding the execution.

The challenge is that if we wait for the right moment to execute our passion, that perfect moment when our desire aligns with everything else that we believe must be set up perfectly, for many the opportunity to execute never happens. Our fear of failure prevents us from acting unless we are absolutely assured of success; assurances that don’t exist anyway despite our desires or perceptions.

So I would like to offer a challenge to each of you this week. Assuming you had unlimited time, energy and money, you would be capable of living out your wildest dreams, of fulfilling your passion to achieve anything you wanted in your life. With such assumptions in mind, you would obviously take action, not fearing failure, not fearing what others would say to you, etc. If you follow the writings of Covey, Dyer, Waitley, Wattle, Hill and others, one of their common themes is that you will “see it when you believe it” not “believe it when you see it” – the notion that everything you desire is created twice – first in the mind and then in reality.

If you know what your passion is, take at least one action towards that passion, especially if the passion or action is outside of your comfort zone. Don’t choose something that is a little out of your comfort zone – go wildly outside your comfort zone with the belief that you are headed towards success. As long as it benefits someone (or yourself), the opinion of other people should not deter you from taking a step closer to your passion. Many people will try to slow you down because they don’t want to be left behind – they have the same fear of execution but instead of shedding the fear, will strive to hold you back to “keep them company”. The week after, take a larger step and each week after that, challenge yourself to outperform your previous steps. Pretty soon, you will be accomplishing things you never thought you were capable of.

If you believe you don’t have a passion yet, take some time this week to reflect on this. Everyone has a passion for something – for many it is dormant inside or fear of failure keeps it from manifesting. I’m sure that you will find your passion if you reflect on where you have come from and where you are going and perform such reflection without fear. If after that, you still don’t feel passionate about anything, drop me an email. J I can share some tools and techniques to help you discover your passion.

One final challenge – as in business, where your business is either growing or dying (there is no middle ground), your personal growth must always be taking place or at some point, you will be left behind. Make it a goal to read at least one book per week that improves you personally or professionally. For those who are short on time, there is always time to take care of yourself, putting yourself in a position to help others. When the oxygen mask deploys in an aircraft, airlines encourage you to put your mask on first and then help the child next to you. By doing so, you save both people; yourself and the child. If you struggle to help the child first without putting on your own mask first and you take too long to help them, you both fail. So when people tell me they didn’t help themselves this week so that they can help others, I remind them of this story. Sooner or later, they will run out of momentum, knowledge and skills and may not be able to help anyone.

Take a step towards manufacturing your own destiny. As I was quoted by Bob Proctor recently, “Everyone's life is under someone's control - it might as well be under your own so that you can direct your destiny." Harvest from the unlimited abundance all around us and then help others to do the same. It is our responsibility and obligation – and it feels great.

Take care and be well.

Create a great week!

Harry