The Many Faces of Full Spectrum Leadership

by Peter Comrie

Here in the beautiful Okanagan Valley we are enjoying the many blessings and richness of an awesome summer season. The local produce is fully on tap, the orchards promise incredible bounty, and the vineyards, well, wine lovers are going to be happy.

At this time, as we celebrate simply living in this corner of paradise, we are caused to consider those less fortunate than we, as they navigate the many changes this spinning orb is undergoing. In the midst of much chaos, Full Spectrum Leaders emerge, and with courage, insight, and a whacking doze of commitment, they make this world a better place for many.

Amitabha Sadangi is one of those leaders.

25 years ago, Amitabha was so poor he couldn't afford 2 meals in one day. He worked hard to put himself through school despite his deep poverty, so that he could get a good job and become wealthy. Today, he is a businessman giving up wealth and fortune to tackle irrigation and poverty in India.

Amitabha's vision is to empower even the poorest farmers to irrigate their land. He believes that giving rural farmers a chance to pull themselvesout of poverty is the way towards sustainable and dignified development. All you need is a $1 and a dream...and a lot of hard work.

This short video will touch you.

A New Perspective on Self Esteem!

Posted by Eddie Beverage

Fortunes have been made by so-called self help gurus on the topic of self esteem. Hundreds of books have been written and countless others touch on the subject in way or another. I have to admit, I haven’t read any of them. Every thing I’ve ever learned about self esteem was through my own process of discovery and examination, and it started when I was very young.

When I was a child, my mother read to me every night. My favorite was always Dr. Seuss; it didn’t occur to me until decades later what made him so special. Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) reveled in the abstract. Possessing a curious, active imagination, I was instinctively drawn to Geisel’s wild characters and escapist worlds. Unlike Geisel, many authors of children’s books choose instead to tell stories of this world, or at least their versions of it. They intend harmlessly enough to teach values and lessons, but sometimes they do more harm than good.

For example, how many children’s books introduce young minds to the idea of career selection before they’re old enough to ride a bike? The question commonly raised is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A fireman? A banker? This instills in a child’s mind at an early age that their value in society is directly tied to what they want to be when they grow up. Of course, it’s not only children’s books that take this approach. Parents and teachers are just as guilty. So are we allowing our children enough space to just be themselves?

Perhaps dad places a heavy emphasis on athleticism but his son has no athletic ability and besides that, no interest. Son wants to play the guitar and write songs for a living. Is it a father’s right to stifle that desire? Who decides which is more important? Is it time to reevaluate the old adage, “Father knows best?” The more space a child is given to assign his/her own value to the various building blocks of self, the greater the chance that a strong, healthy self image will take shape. A parent’s role is to facilitate this discovery with loving kindness, not dictate the terms and steer the ship.

The classic case studies of individuals with self esteem problems often paint a picture of someone who’s consistently told “you’re not good enough” or “you’re smart enough.” Many have suffered not only demoralizing verbal abuse, but physical and sexual abuse as well. Still, as prevalent as these scenarios are and not to minimalize them by any means, I would argue that the roots of many self esteem issues are far less insidious and affect all of us in one way or another.

Self esteem issues are found in the twenty-something executive who went to college to please his parents and now plays salesman during the day and paints at night. Or the devoutly religious who deny themselves earthly pleasures in the name of dogma and guilt. Or the teenager raised on MTV’s version of how to be a rock star, win friends and influence people. The problem lies in our social sonar, the signals we send out to the world around us for feedback on where we stand on the food chain. We live in an “on demand” world now and expect fast, convenient snapshots of who we are rendered at 300 pixels per inch. Unfortunately, these pictures are blurred and skewed by other people’s shortcomings and value judgments, and by media and advertising with their slick ploys to squeeze us into their narrow demographics.

Eastern religions have recognized this problem for centuries and addressed it through the doctrine of negation of self and ego. So shall we eliminate all outside influences by removing ourselves to nature and destroy the self? I’m not advocating such a radical step. On the contrary, I believe a sense of self is important. The concern is that ours is too often built like a house of cards, nothing more than a series of illusions stacked precariously on top of one another. A strong self image can only be built on a foundation of truth to our own inner nature.

The philosopher J. Krishnamurti said, “You will see how absurd is the whole structure that you have built, looking for external help, depending on others for your comfort, for your happiness, for your strength. These can only be found within yourselves.”

So meditate often on the things you love. Journey inside yourself with no fear of what you might find there. Good and evil exist side by side in every one of us, so resist the temptation to judge yourself. Embrace your contradictions—they become you. And remember that no one’s opinion of you means more than your own. A book can’t and shouldn’t touch you self-esteem. It comes from within, not from without.

Eddie Beverage operates a web site for friends and family of the chronically ill at http://www.healingcarepackages.com. His novel, "Tom Brown Saves the World," is available at independent bookstores everywhere.

Discrimination - The First Law of Success!

Posted by Oscar Bruce

As the author of personal development publications distributed world wide, I am frequently asked why certain people seem to succeed at practically everything they attempt, while others fail no matter how hard they try. My response is "I definitely can tell you, but you're really not going to like the answer." But here it is.

Most people spend 97% of their time with the wrong people. This fact means your best friend could very well be your worst enemy. It's here that discrimination as a process is the essential element that will create success or disappoint.

What the ear hears, the mouth repeats. In short, you absorb the language of the people with whom you frequently associate. If the language is mundane, and loaded with meaningless clichés and useless figures of speech, soon that is the way you will speak. And, it's a well known fact that people judge you by the way you speak.

Your mind is like a giant sponge that soaks up everything it hears. Many words that are not favorable to your well being and personal success take residence there. Through a psychological process I call: "Psycho-Semantics," they impose a detrimental influence on your imagination and your vision. Those words will direct your outlook and expectations.

Out there is a beautiful world and beautiful people everywhere. Why clutter it with relationships that don't belong in your life? It's an easy life if you don't let others drag you down. You therefore must break ranks from ordinary people whose language you do not want to become your way of speaking. Treat them like you would a cancer: early detection and swift removal.

Unless you discriminate deliberately and savagely, the people around you will engage in conversation about the trivia of their latest ailment, their relationship problems, and gossip in the form of "I said, and then, she said." Even worse, a generous sprinkling of "isn't it awful" and "pity poor me." If all this sounds all too familiar, you must learn to initiate new conversation topics - topics that cause listeners to perceive you as intelligent and insightful.

Albert Einstein is quoted as follows. "The definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting a different outcome." In my book "Winning Words Winning Ways" I make the salient point, "Your future will be exactly like your past unless you make major changes."

Now that we've covered the primary liability that holds most people back, I'm going to share the powerful dynamic that will provide all the best that life has to offer.

Since the mind and life abhor a vacuum, you will need new and better friends. This will require new, personal communication skills to make you appealing in better circles. You will need new words and phrases to make your conversation sizzle. That is upgrading the way you verbalize your ideas and feelings.

Why are new communications skills and new conversation topic important? Big things happen when you say the little things right. And, you'd be surprised at what you can get when you ask for it the right way. The power superior verbal skills will give you has absolutely no limit.

You must become a word specialist, a person who paints beautiful pictures with an invisible brush of magical words, a skilled verbal artist whose conversation is both persuasive and compelling. That draws people to you. They compete to be with you.

You don't see eagles hanging out with sparrows.

On the other hand, through the process of Psycho-Semantics there are also certain words and phrases that will be uplifting and tend to expand the mind's perception and vision. Select words and phrases that help the mind to see opportunities previously overlooked.

You don't see eagles hanging out with sparrows do you? After all, gutter language wouldn't work well in the office of your company's C.E.O. "If you want to hang with the natives, you'd better speak the native tongue. Within that simple sentence lies the reason that "discrimination is the first law of success."

Chose your friends and associate carefully.

DISCRIMINATE SAVAGELY.

Say Goodbye to Struggle!

Posted by Jeanie Marshall

Struggle is a common expectation in our society. We tend to plan for it, anticipate it, and invite it into our lives. It has become so familiar that we often push away joy or peace or harmony, declaring such experiences to be unreal or temporary or frivolous.

Many folks tend to feel more alive when they are struggling against something. Work groups and whole organizations are established to compete -- a form of struggle -- against something. War and violence are glamorized. War against war is still war. Ill health is considered routine. Senility is the prospect of advanced years. Suffering is considered noble. Whether we struggle against struggle or resign ourselves to struggle, we are in struggle.

And so Now, to You....

Let's move from the collective "we" and the impersonal "they/many" to you and your inner self and outer behavior. Consider how you struggle. Knowing how you struggle will assist you in replacing your pattern with different behavior. You may also find it helpful to reflect on what you struggle against, but I caution you about lingering there too long. It is too easy to fall into the trap of explaining or blaming the "what" against which you struggle. Your struggle is not about the other person or thing; your struggle is about you.

So pick something real in your life that you struggle against, just to give yourself a laboratory. It may be some little annoyance, such as a spouse's dirty socks on the floor or wet lingerie in the shower stall. Or you may select something work related, such as a co-worker's competence or an assignment you dread. For the purpose of this initial exercise, select an issue that you classify as a small to medium concern. Practicing on something real but not overwhelming will give you courage to explore something you consider a major struggle.

Bring this idea or issue into your mind and feel the feelings. You may find it helpful to close your eyes to stay focused on the task. What does the struggle feel like? What sensations do you feel in your body and where do you feel them? What emotions do you feel and how do you feel them? Hear what you say about this issue to yourself. What does the resistance/struggle sound like? What color is the struggle? How big or small is the struggle?

Identify all the reactions and signals and sensations and feelings and emotions that you can. Try not to deny anything that comes into your awareness as you read this. How does your neck feel? Your shoulders? Your stomach? Do you feel agitated or impatient? Are you fascinated by the sensations? Do you want to do something else?

How you respond to these questions suggests how you respond to struggle in other parts of your life. While you may want to believe that this is just a hypothetical exercise, it is not. It is a real exercise, one that can train your awareness and all the muscles in your being to choose responses other than struggle. It is helpful to know how you struggle if you wish to change your pattern.

Goodbye; Graduation

Often when I talk to people about "holding on" and "letting go" I experience their resistance. What variety! (And, yes, I experience my own resistance, my own brand of struggle, which helps me to speak with greater authority on the subject.) In certain situations in our culture we celebrate goodbyes or endings well.

Graduations are endings we tend to do well. Graduations are also recognized as beginnings. Yet, so too, are all endings! That is the point. When we say goodbye to something that we no longer want or need or when we say goodbye to someone who is ready to leave, a space opens for something or someone else. This is a process, not a linear sequential set of cause and effect steps. However, if you find it easier to perceive this process as linear, do so.

So, are you ready to graduate from the School of Struggle? If you choose to stay longer, you will continue to learn. That is guaranteed. Keep in mind, though, that you are likely to learn and re-learn and re-learn again the same lessons. Other schools await your enrollment. The School of Joy. The School of Peace. The School of Abundance. The School of Love. The School of Health. The School of Laughter. The School of Enlightenment. The School of Mastery.

Entrance exams are simple: Give up struggle for freedom, fear for love, illness for health, pain for joy, hopelessness for mastery, etc. Say goodbye to those experiences you have completed or to those persons whose relationships with you have ended. You will not be able to stay in The School of Joy if you hold onto struggle -- you will be expelled or asked to take a leave of absence. Merely enrolling in The School of Love is not enough, you must practice unconditional love and not cut classes to get intimate with fear. You can stay in these schools even though you occasionally fail an exam or re-visit your old school. The principals/principles of these schools are infallible; the teachers, exacting and loving.

Goodbye Party

Our joyous goodbyes often prompt us to give a party, a celebration. We do this on New Year's Eve: to say "goodbye" to the old year and "hello" to the new one. We do this for school graduations: to celebrate the ending of education in one institution and recognize the rite of passage to another institution or the military or the "real world" as we are fond of saying. We do this for retirements, sometimes accompanied by the gold watch: to honor the work place contributions and welcome the retirement years.

So, why not create a Goodbye Party for Struggle? You may prefer to have a Hello Freedom Party, instead. However, if you need to say goodbye or thank something or someone who has been with you, focusing on the goodbye or graduation party will be useful. You will not be successful claiming "all is well" or "life is good" while fierce anger or pain or unresolved issues are dominant in you. Celebrate the passage.

If struggle has been your friend, give a going away party or a hello freedom party to celebrate the release of this energy. Thank struggle for being a teacher. Make the party your unique event: buy balloons or not. Celebrate your party alone or with friends. Let an object represent the struggle and release the object to the trash or a fire or the great outdoors. Use rituals that have meaning for you. Welcome in the new opportunity.

Goodbye, Struggle, goodbye.

Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant and Coach with Marshall House, produces Guided Meditations on CD albums and MP3 downloads and writes extensively on subjects related to personal development and empowerment. Voice of Jeanie Marshall, http://www.jmvoice.com

It's All About Attitude!

By Jeff Earlywine

When I was a fifteen year old kid a very large, and very drunk, cowboy made me an offer. He said, “Son, if you will ride a bull I will give you my cowboy hat.” Well, I really wanted his hat, but I certainly was not drunk and knew better than to agree to this deal. Bulls have a way of “horning in” on your business if you know what I mean?

In fact, bull riding is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. People from all walks of life attend rodeos to see cowboys strap themselves to the back of an animal that has the power to not only buck them off, but to inflict major harm and injury. The cowboy only has to stay on the bull’s back for a short eight seconds. But that eights seconds seems to turn into minutes when the gate is opened and the fury of the bull is unleashed with powerful jumps, kicks, and convulsion-like moves; all meant to sling the cowboy into to the ground.

It is often said that rodeo bulls have “bad attitudes.” This usually means that a particular bull is mean and nasty, and a rider will have a difficult time making his ride last the eight seconds. Bulls with the worst attitude seem to be given names to match (or to reveal the bull’s personality); Mudslinger, Yellow Jacket, Hammer, Hurricane, and Ugly, just to name a few.

It seems to me that many times during our regularly programmed day we symbolically strap ourselves to the back of a bad attitude. We hold on to that attitude with all our strength not willing to let go. We seem to think that if we hold on long enough we will conquer it and win a big prize. However, the people we care about and love are standing on the sidelines watching and wondering when will the eight seconds be over?

I recently interviewed a person that has had many bumps and bruises in life. Such a tough life that anyone would agree she definitely has the right to have a bad attitude. The amazing thing is her outlook on each day; it is one of power and success. She knows that she is someone special and has a lot to offer her employer, her family, and herself. So, what does she have that causes her attitude to be so positive each day?

In interviewing her I found five ideas that you can apply in just eight seconds. It has been said that attitude determines our altitude. By daily applying these five tips you will find that your life will climb to exciting new highs.

Smile. It has been proven that smiling and laughing results in chemicals being released in the body resulting in increased health and energy.

Speak something positive about yourself. Each day we hear all kinds of negative remarks about ourselves. From heart-piercing jokes told by our friends to television advertisements telling us that we must be in perfect physical shape to reach our goals in life. Creating a habit of positive self-talk will build your self-esteem with long lasting benefits.

Count your blessings. Your family members, occupation, material things, health are all blessings. You are so blessed. Stopping to count your blessings will cause you to be satisfied with who you are and what you have. Having goals to achieve greatness is important, but not being satisfied with what God has blessed you with will only cause you to become frustrated and desiring the proverbial “greener grass on the other side of the fence.”

Treat someone you care about or work with as if they are the most important person in the world. I once heard a story about some monks living at a convent. They were getting discouraged because the hope of a coming Savior was becoming more a memory than a dream. One monk shared this morale problem with the head monk. The head monk’s response was classic. He said, “My dear brother, Christ the Savior has already come, and He is living among us now.” The monk quickly went to all the others and began to spread the news. But then a question, who is He? Since they didn’t know, they began to treat each other as if they were the Savior of the world. The hopelessness of the convent was replaced with dreams of a greater tomorrow because everyone was treated as if he were the Christ.

Don’t take yourself so serious – learn to laugh, especially at yourself. We all make mistakes, but not all of us laugh at them. Learning to do this will not only help you smile, but will create an attitude of joy and happiness.

Footprints and Monuments is a free monthly leadership and motivational e-newsletter. www.jeffearlywine.com

Developing Personal Depth.

By Mark Myhre

Everyone seeks personal depth to one degree or another. Personal depth stands as *the* way to add richness and beauty to our lives.

Nobody wants to be considered a shallow person. Still, the concept of becoming a ‘deep’ person turns many people off. We have this image of a deep person as someone who spends a little too much time stroking his beard and smoking his pipe, lost in thought way beyond us mere mortals.

They ponder too much. They’re smarter than us. They go to the opera -and actually know what the fat lady is singing about! They’re just not normal.

Fortunately, personal depth exists as something else altogether.

Achieving greater personal depth (and not coincidently, greater success at anything you pursue) involves taking specific actions. You can achieve greater personal depth starting today by working with the seven characteristics listed below.

1. Develop and use the generating energies of trust and value.

Trust: Even though you don’t have all the answers, you know you’ll get by. You’re ‘enough‘ and you know it. You can count on yourself. You can rely on your power, strength and talent. Whatever happens you know you can face it: you know you’ll make it. Even though it may not be perfect, you’ll handle the situation at hand ‘good enough’. That’s trust.

Value: You might not be highly visible in the world, but the role you play in life *is* highly valuable. You know you are valuable in your way - to yourself and to those who love you. Also, you recognize, respond and act upon your value.

2. Develop and use the sustaining energies of life such as discipline and ownership.

The discipline that’s self-imposed: You decide on something and then you *follow through*. You follow your own plan, your own rules - that’s discipline.

Ownership: Own your thoughts and feelings. Own your emotions. Own your failures - so you can change them. Own that you’re responsible. And own your successes - so you can keep them. Ownership gives you the ‘right’ to change.

3. Continuously create new meaning, new destiny, new personality, and new self-image.

People with personal depth never settle for the way they are. They may be satisfied, but they always seek to become more. More meaning in their life. Higher destiny. Greater complexity of personality. And new self-image.

4. Develop and strengthen character.

Character: By knowing your ideals and your principles, and living by them…. by having ideas and opinions and standing by them…. That’s how you build character and thus increase your personal depth.

5. Continuous expansion of your power, strength, responsibility and creativity.

You look for ways to be more powerful; to act, to get involved in the world around you. You look for ways to take more responsibility from the most minute to the most magnificent. You know your strengths and look for ways to use them. You work on expanding your creativity. (Creativity is anything you do that inspires you or inspires others.) Just taking a walk can be creative!

6. Sustained actualization.

You’re in touch with your thoughts and feelings, and you’re not afraid to put them into action. You always think and feel. You’re aware of that thinking and feeling. And you act upon those thoughts and feelings.

7. Generating spirituality.

You don’t have to separate yourself from the mundane of life to experience your spirituality. Rather, you seek the spiritual *within* the material. Your spirituality eventually becomes your number one priority.

You come to realize everything you experience is a manifestation of your spirituality. There is no separation between the spiritual and the living of life - that’s the goal of the person seeking or having personal depth.

As you can see, personal depth is not something you check off on a to-do list. Let’s see… walk the dog, take out the trash, and oh yeah - achieve personal depth. No.

It’s an ongoing, never-ending, always-expanding endeavor. Basically it all comes down to becoming more of yourself.

There are no limits, and that’s the good news. You can always experience greater personal depth.

Mark Ivar Myhre, The Emotional Healing Wizard, offers unique cutting-edge emotional healing tips, techniques and secrets that teach you how to deal with depression, stress, anxiety, and much more. http://www.join-the-fun.com

Vision: How Leaders See The Invisible!

By Eric Garner

The one thing that distinguishes great leaders from also-rans is the power, depth, and breadth of their vision.

Vision is a strange concept. It’s much more than just a goal or purpose. Goals simply state what we aim to achieve. Visions paint a fuller picture describing our most cherished dreams, hopes and possibilities.

1. Seeing Possibilities. The ability to see possibilities that others don’t see is one of the hallmarks of great leaders. Where most of us see just a consignment of goods, leaders see an exciting product that can change someone’s life. Where most of us see an office with space for desks and filing cabinets, leaders see a place where teams can do groundbreaking work. Where most of us see people with names and titles, leaders see budding organizational champions. As George Bernard Shaw said, “Some people see things as they are and ask “Why?” I see things that are not and ask “Why not?””

2. Clear and Compelling. Management writer Warren Bennis was fascinated by the ability of leaders to see what the rest of us can’t see. A few years ago, he carried out a study of 90 top leaders in the United States. They included the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong. What Bennis discovered was that, despite their different backgrounds, disciplines, and circumstances, these people all had one thing in common: a clear and compelling vision of what they wanted to realise. To them, the vision wasn’t at some point in the future. It was right in front of their eyes.

3. A Vision Without Limits. The truly great leaders don’t put limits on their vision. They go for the biggest dream they can imagine even if it is only realized at some time in the future when they are no longer around. There is a story about the filmmaker Walt Disney who died six years before the opening of the first Disney World. At the opening ceremony, two Disney executives were sitting together. One said, “Too bad Walt couldn’t have been here to see this.” The other replied, “You’re wrong. Walt did see it. That’s why it’s here.”. While most of us see no more than three months ahead, outstanding leaders can see several years ahead. Elliott Jaques of Brunel University believed that one person in a million can see 20 years ahead. The Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita even has a 250-year plan for his business.

4. Drawing Others In. Leaders do more than have a vision of what is possible; they articulate it and draw others in. They do this through metaphor, images, and by triggering the innate desire of all people to be part of something big. Compare the visions of the two leading soft-drinks companies in America in the 1920’s. One was a Boston-based company called Moxies. Their stated aim was “to sell herb-based drinks”. Nothing to get excited about there. The other company’s vision was “to quench the thirst of a nation”. That company was Coca Cola. Today, nobody remembers Moxies.

5. Action. Without action, visions are just dreams. They are creations of our imagination, no more. But with action and the ability to see the steps from where we are now to where we can be, dreams become reality. In Shell UK, managers are taught to develop a quality known as “helicopter vision”. This is the ability to see across three time zones of the future, as if in a hovering helicopter. From here, you can see the near plains, the middle range foothills and the distant peaks. Being able to see all three zones at once harmonizes your tactical actions, your operational planning and your overall strategy. There is a clear map to the realization of the vision.

We all dream but few of us remember our dreams let alone act on them. But leaders are different. They make a difference to our daily lives and our collective lives. They do this by capturing our dreams, nurturing them with care, and in the fullness of time helping us bring them to the glorious light of day.

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