To whom much is given

Biblical scholars often quote the scripture, “To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected” . That is to say all of us who have families, jobs, education, and success have an obligation to assist those of us who are less fortunate. In these perilous economic times, just having a job is a blessing. There are many Americans who have been jobless for months, which also means that they are without benefits and do not have the ability to cover those medical expenses that arise, much less their mortgage or their rent or now the rising cost for the acquisition for food.

To have a job is truly a blessing and comes with obligations to those we serve and to each other. You are a success and your responsibility as successful people is to help others less fortunate in addition to counsel those who jeopardize their jobs daily because they would rather engage themselves in non-productive activities on the job site.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr once said, “I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty”. Let’s exercise our responsibility to each other, opportunity to do better today than we did yesterday, and share our possessions with those less fortunate.

Quiet Time

In our hectic lives what often takes a back seat is “Quite Time”. Each of us needs that Quite Time to regenerate our minds and spirits and to be able to listen to our inner voice which if listened to will guide us as we are faced with life’s decisions. Some folk fill their lives with BUSY STUFF because they are fearful of what they may hear about themselves when they listen to their inner voice. You are your BEST advisor; you spirit will always lead you correctly if you are courageous enough to listen and follow.

Humble and Teachable

Winners have two over-riding traits -— they are humble and teachable.

Humility is a quality or characteristic ascribed to a person who is considered to be unpretentious and modest. A person who does not think that he or she is better or more important than others regardless of what position they hold. Humility allows Winners to wear their success well and they are able to shore up their weaknesses because they are humble and take feedback. The need to be right or correct takes a lot of personal energy on a daily basis. This energy can be placed in moving yourself ahead as opposed to used to keep you in a defensive posture.

When you assume a teachable attitude, then you will find that people will bring you new information and skill sets that will assist you in your quest to be a winner. When you are humble then you are also approachable and you will find that more people put their shoulder to your wheel and will help you succeed. In Eastern philosophy you are using the energy that others bring to you to move your agenda. When you are in a defensive posture that energy you expend will be your own and will drain your energy bank. Make daily deposits to your energy and success bank by staying humble and teachable.

Growth

Leadership experts have made a discovery about the relationship between GROWTH AND LEADERSHIP. Leaders have the capacity to develop and improve their skills through feedback. This capacity is what distinguishes leaders from followers. If you take leadership in this vain, then all of us are leaders if we have the courage to learn from our mistakes. All too often, when our mistakes are pointed out to us, we become:
defensive;
insecure;
angry; and
passive aggressive.
The characteristics defined above are the characteristics of winners or leaders. Each day you will have the OPPORTUNITY to learn from a mistake. Embrace the lesson and you will find that your life will take on a different trajectory—a trajectory toward SUCCESS! Have the COURAGE AND CAPACITY to learn from your mistakes today!

Accountability

Accountability is the obligation to demonstrate and take responsibility for performance in light of commitments and expected outcomes. An obligation is a Duty to fulfill a promise made. In a work context then, each of us have a made a promise to perform according to the expectations as set worth in our job descriptions and have agreed that when performance is not provided then we agree to accept the consequences—accountability. The dictionary also indicates that “obligations” are both moral and legal which means to me that people fulfill not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the law when they hold themselves accountable.

As a manager, my challenge is always the employee who has decided not to be accountable to their job description and thus to 0the organization] and the members and providers we serve. When these employees are challenged about their job performance and their lack of accountability I most often hear:

I wasn’t provided the proper training.
The job standards are too rigorous.
The organization provides mixed signals.
I don’t like my manager.
Everyone is slacking off.
I’m doing the best I can.

What I often don’t hear is:

I apologize for my lack in job performance and I will improve.
I take responsibility for my lack of performance and will improve.
I am committed to my position and will work to exceed your expectations.

My impression is that 1st Mile folk will be in the former group and the 2nd Mile folk will be in the latter. You see your job description provides an opportunity for your employer to hold your feet to the fire to work performance against the job description or the 1st mile. To the extent that your performance is lacking then other consequences follow as a result of the employee’s lack of accountability. The folk that are 2nd Milers understand this principle and will take CONTROL of the situation and provide a performance that exceeds Accountability because they are now in control and folk in control of their own destiny are WINNERS each and every day!

Empty Vessel

A study of 105 Executive determined many of the characters of the Winners on their teams. Of all the characteristics the one most identified with Winners was the ability of Winners to admitted their mistakes and accept the consequences of their errors as opposed to trying to blame others. A person who is willing to take responsibility for their actions and be honest or “transparent” with their bosses or team mates is someone that the Executive admired, respected and trusted. The Executives also indicated that this type of employee is one that everyone can learn from.

When I was a 1st year Resident in Pediatrics, I very quickly learned to say “I don’t know, can you teach me?” Instead of faking it I just admitted that I didn’t know especially on July 1 when on June 30th I was just a medical student—you was I kidding by saying I knew something. I certainly had the capacity and background to learn quickly and because I was a sponge everyone, nurses, attending and patients, were willing to teach me. This is a lesson well learned by mean and I have carried it with me through life. It is a lesson I have tried to impart to my children and grandchildren.

If you are an empty vessel you have more of a capacity to be filled!

Five C's of Leadership

What are the qualities that convince people to follow a leader:

Courage – leaders have convictions and principles for which they stand and take a position. What are principles that you build your life on?
Conviction – leaders have passion for causes and their beliefs? What beliefs do you have passion for?
Character – leaders are forthright and honest. When was the last time you exercised your honesty and forthrightness?
Connections – leaders have the capacity to network with other decision makers and together they make things happen. When is the last time used your network to advance a cause for yourself or others.
Credibility – leaders are good for their word and get results. Do people view you as a person of your word?

Building upon these FIVE “Cs” will make you a LEADER each and every day. This world needs more leaders and more people like you. You have to exercise your leadership capacity on a daily basis and you will find that you will draw more people to you naturally.

Negative People

When you read self help books and leadership primers, two (2) consistent questions that are asked are 1) how do you spend your time and 2) with whom do you spend your time? You can tell a lot about which direction your life is heading by looking at what things you put in your mind and heart and with whom you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and your life. If you spend time with positive people dedicated to your growth then their priorities will encourage you and reinforce your desire to grow. If you spend time with successful people, you will become successful!

Likewise if you spend time with negative people, I have found the following to be true:

Negative people always think someone is out to get them and will make you believe that everyone that provides feedback to you is out to get you;
Negative people will have you envious of the accomplishments of others;
Negative people will encourage you to think the worse of others which will lead to thinking the worst about yourself;
Negative people will always participate in gossip which means they gossip about you too;
Negative people will make you believe that the only way to succeed is by pulling others down;
Negative people will give you a chip on your shoulder that is permanent; and
Negative people will make you believe you have entitlement rights.

When you demonstrate negative tendencies or behaviors, evaluate what you are putting in your mind and heart and evaluate the people you surround yourself with. You will find that successful people FOCUS ON THEMSELVES and how they either contribute or not contribute to their own success or the success of others. They rise above the FREY and in so doing will continue to succeed. If you find your self stuck in a rut you may want to evaluate what and whom you have been surrounding yourself with. YOU have the power to change, make change happen and make things better.

Courage

COURAGE is also known as fortitude, or the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation without falling or failing under the weight of negative events. All leaders and or winners have courage and they exercise this quality on a daily basis. It takes courage to stand up for what is right and to provide an alternative point of view when the popular beliefs may be contrary to doing the right thing. Some examples in the work place may be:

not involving yourself with team mates who would rather waste time than paying attention to performing each tasks with fervor an enthusiasm;
not involving yourself with team mates that discourage you from going the extra mile;
not involving yourself with team mates who constantly bring the company down or others down;
not involving yourself with team mates who blame others for their own failings; and
not involving yourself with team mates who encourage you to be less than you can be!

Without courage you will become a slave to your own insecurities and shortcomings. Courage will allow you to rise above all negativism and you will SUCCEED first on a daily basis which then leads to your long term success in all things endeavored!

Team work

For there to be team work several things must happen. First, team members must GENUINELY believe that the value of the team’s success is greater than the value of their own individual interests. Second, personal sacrifice must be encouraged and then rewarded by all members of the team leader. As we all encourage the team process, you will find that more team members will begin to identify themselves more and more with the team and they will recognize that individualism may win trophies, but teamwork wins the PRIZE!

I am so encouraged by those of you that continue to invest in our team with suggestions and process improvements. Keep up the GREAT WORK!

Storms

There are many sayings about STORMS. Storms have to come for growth and for rainbows however none of us like the storms themselves as they contain winds that buffet us and may contain lightening that can harm us. None the less, how we weather the storms of life is the test of character that defines us. We can take some examples from nature.

The little sparrows usually have to fly through a storm. They flap their little wings against the wind and expend a lot of energy trying to get to safety. They often will swarm before a storm so that they can use the collect energy of the swarm to get to safety. However caught in a storm, the lone sparrow will have to work hard to counteract the winds that they have to fly through.

The eagle on the other hand doesn’t fear a storm because its wings allow it to use the up-drafts of the storms to SOAR. The eagle has the ability to use of the energy of the storm to rise to greater heights. It never gets weary or tired in a storm because it doesn’t expend any energy to SOAR.

The eastern martial arts teach the concept of using the energy of others to produce positive effects for you. In eastern philosophy, energy is never seen as positive or negative. Energy is taken for what it is – a force that can be used to affect positive change for you. Just like the eagle harnesses the energy from the STORM we can all harness the energy from every positive and negative experience to SOAR above the fray and fly to perches where only EAGLES roam!

Arrested Development

Character is the foundation of each of our lives and without it we will not develop—folk without character have ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT! Crisis does not necessarily make character however it certainly does reveal it. Adversity is a cross roads which makes a person choose one of two paths—character or compromise. When you choose character you will become stronger even when choosing character brings negative consequences. The meaning of our existence is not in prospering just for the sake of prospering but in the development of our souls which will ensure that we prosper unceasingly. The development of our character is at the heart of all success including the success in being a HUMAN BEING! Accountability on a daily basis to ourselves, to each other, and to the greater society is a test of our character and development. Develop today!

HALT

I ran across a quote that I found helpful and you might find it helpful too. The concept deals with the acronym HALT and perhaps you shouldn’t make a major decision or for a reaction to a problem or an offense when these conditions exist.

H – When you are Hungry you will be more vulnerable to conditions or issues that affect you personally. Researchers also indicate that you should never go grocery shopping when you are hungry for food as you will buy more food than necessary. Also remember that humans hunger for many things outside of food—we hunger for recognition, respect, fame and fortune. At any point that you are “hungry” you may be vulnerable.

A – When you are Angry you will be more prone to say or make decisions that have negative affects to you and others. Anger is an emotion that limits our ability to think clearly. Anger will lead all of us to be paranoid, which then leads us to read situations and the actions of other incorrectly.

L- If you are Lonely just recognize you will be more vulnerable to anyone that makes comments that stroke your ego but may not have long term positive affects for you. Elderly fall prey to marketing folk that make them feel wanted and then take all their life savings.

T – When you are Tired and worn down because of H – A- or L you may make decisions just to get rid of the burden of having to make a decision. This is probably not the day you want to make a decision that will affect you long term.

If you are in any of the states listed above, take a mental “walk” around the block to gain a better perspective. You don’t have to respond to being hungry, angry, lonely or tired by making quick, bad decisions that will affect your ability to be successful long term. Instead take care of those physical needs described above and TAKE CONTROL of your situation and rise above hunger, anger, loneliness and being tired.

Life Cycles

The azaleas were out in force in Atlanta which always brings a smile to my face. SPRING is a time for renewal—the animals and insects are creating their own hope for their futures and the future of planet earth; the plants are giving us evidence that we have a future today and my soul sings with the hope of today that was planted yesterday.

LIFE, whether you want it to or not, has cycles. You will always reap harvests from what you have planted in the past. There is no hidden agenda, actually. If you plant seeds of success from hard work you will certainly reap the benefits. Likewise, if you plant the seeds of regret and misplaced efforts, you will reap the harvest of want and seasons of blight.

Sure there are occasions when our lack of success is as a result of intervention from negative forces, however compared to what we reap on ourselves, the negative intervention of others pales in comparison.

No one can really do anything to you that you don’t allow. Take control of your own life today by keeping your Thinking Hats On; Taking the time to Do It Right the First Time; and Believing that All Things Are Possible Because You Make a Difference.

Never let anyone Let You Believe that Accountability for your own actions is not important! Be Coffee Beans today and take control of your own destiny!

Vision for your future

Do you feel dissatisfied? Do you feel discouraged? Self help books indicate that if you feel dissatisfied or discouraged it’s because YOU HAVE NOT GRASPED THE VISION FOR YOUR FUTURE!

A question you should ask yourself daily is “WHAT DESTINATION YOU ARE STRIVING FOR”. This question will focus you to consider what really matters to you. What do you cry about? What things make your heart sing? What do you dream about? Until you can ask and answer these questions, the level of introspection required to succeed will be absent and you will feel discouraged and dissatisfied. If you depend on others as a source of your happiness or your unhappiness then you are not in control and you will feel dissatisfied and discouraged.

Remember that on a daily basis, YOU make the decisions that either invest in your future success or keep you feeling discouraged or dissatisfied. I can tell you it’s easier not to change those things about yourself that keep you in a rut. You can continue to live an “IF ONLY” life; if only I had the right kind of boss; if only I had more money; if only I had a different position; if only I was appreciated more; if only, if only, if only!

You can also live an “I CAN DO BETTER” life by just doing better. You can embrace your current job and just do better. You can accept your boss and just do better. You can accept the money that you receive from your job and just do better. You can do better by internalizing your dreams and what matters to you. Trust me and just take the 1st step.