life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “Leadership”
You don’t have to be a star, baby, to be in my show…
I found this art/quote about ordinary people yesterday and didn’t think too much about it. As you can probably tell, I am a seeker of inspiration and am actively looking to find thes
e types of things all the time. I liked it, and thought I could use it at some point, and so I went ahead with the process of saving it. As I tried to save it, my computer got ‘stuck’. So I, as I am prone to do, kept hitting the same button to ‘un-stick’ it – I finally got disgusted and ‘re-set’ moving on to other things. This morning, as I was looking through some pictures, I saw that I had saved it 18 times!!! hahaha Sometimes it takes seeing 18 images of the same quote to get my attention and to embrace the full impact of said quote! hee
Sometimes we look at others and say, ‘I could never do anything so amazing. They do extraordinary things because they are just extraordinary people – better than me.’ I believe each created person has the same value on
this earth – each of us have the same potential to change the world. We are all called to be who we have been created to be. To use our time wisely. It is a very personal journey and living our lives faithfully, diligently, consistently and rightly is our purpose. (I want to clarify, there is no human, correct answer to ‘Rightly before God’ it simply means ‘actions done with unconditional love’).
Truth is, that everything in this world that is accomplished is done by ‘ordinary-extraordinary’ people who believed in their dreams, worked hard and wouldn’t give up. We are all ordinary…AND…we are all extraordinary. This is not about becoming famous, or becoming fabulously wealthy – this is about becoming our best, truest, highest selves and then manifesting that into the world in whatever way we feel we should – no matter what other people say. One act of true kindness changes the world for the better. We may never know how even one kind word, or a well-timed recognition may change someone’s life.
This truth brings hope to me. This truth keeps me humble. This truth keeps me seeking consistency becoming my truest self. This truth keeps my heart open, and keeps me seeking to forgive myself, and others, for our imperfections. This truth gives me the courage to continue to pursue my dreams and step into my destiny. I hope it doesn’t take you reading this quote 18 times to feel the impact in your soul and in your every day life! 🙂
Looking for life’s ‘greenest grass’?
What do I want?
Where do I get it?
Why are some people successful,
While others wander – lost?
How do Dreams come true?
I believe we can all have the greenest of grass…IF we want it – seek it with passion –
water the grass properly!
Dreams can’t become reality until there is action.
There is a harmony and balance that must be achieved.
Much thought, and planning must be done – then lots of hard work must be accomplished!
We want green grass – but do we want to water it?
Do we have the passion?
Will we wake up and become aware of our gift of our time, our life?
We usually don’t even take notice of our neighbors hard work watering and tending their yard – until they win the ‘yard of the month’ –
then we get jealous and want their green grass!
All things we dream of are possible
If we really want them!
Living Hopefully
What are your deepest, holiest hopes? Hopes for your life? For your family? Your community? Your world? The universe? Imagine those hopes fulfilled. Give your heart to your hopes. This is faith.
Don’t think that your hopes are too audacious. God’s hopes for the world are even more audacious than you can imagine. Mary thought it audacious that God should choose her to carry God’s hope for the world, but it was true. The same is true of us.
It might seem that your life is too messed up, the world too much in the grip of evil, for there to be much hope. But our hope doesn’t come from wishful thinking, or from the world or its condition. It comes from God. Hope rises from the love that is at the heart of all things. It comes from trust that the love that created the world can transform the world. Of course there is evil in the world, and failure in our own lives, but we don’t live under its spell. We choose to live by the light of God’s promise, not the world’s threats and disappointments. Exercise the muscles of hope, not despair, for despair holds the door open for evil, while hope holds the door open for God.
Attend to your hope. Listen to it. Bring it to mind. Envision the fulfillment of your hope. Let it be real. Live as if your trust it. Imagine it coming to pass. Live as if it is coming to pass even now. Live as if Christ is actually coming.
God moves this world not by force but by the Spirit. By participating in God’s hope for the world, like Mary did, we help it to come to fruition — no matter how many generations it takes. This Advent season, give voice to your hope, and live by its light. Be awake. Live hopefully.
________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Practice Letting Go
Fear makes us cling rather than letting go. But clinging
only binds us to our fear. It does not set us free. Practice letting go.
Fear inhibits our willingness to be fully, lovingly
present each moment. Afraid of the responsibility and uncertainty of investing
ourselves in the present moment, we withhold ourselves. Afraid of what might be
demanded of us, we do not engage in what is before us. Wishing things were
otherwise, we bury ourselves elsewhere. But life is this, not something else.
Practice being present.
All that you are and all that you have is God’s. You have
nothing to lose. Practice giving yourself away.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Used with Permission
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d & thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter’d & sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
“The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Tennyson. Public domain.
The Power of Our Choices
I got the following inspirational movie link this morning, from Mac Anderson at Simple Truths – http://www.powerofdisciplinemovie.com/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_MO-_-10.10.11-_-TPODmovie&utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_campaign=TPODmovie
As I was watching it, the thought came to me that discipline is simply living the power of choices with total awareness of what we truly want in our lives. ha We all seem to ‘forget’ the things we truly want in our lives very easily. We want good health, but we ‘forget’ that comes through excercise and good eating habits. We want good relationships, but we ‘forget’ that it takes involvement and nurturing to keep a bond growing between two people. We want to be successful in our business, yet we ‘forget’ that we must make good, and practical, business decisions in order for that to happen.
I enjoyed the movie and it helped me to start my day focused on my personal goals. I, like every other person, have been given an abundance of talent. Now it is up to me to choose to discipline myself and reach my personal goals.
wooo hoooo! I know I can…I know I can….I know I can….I kno
AL
40 things to know in the valley!
- Faith and Hope = trust
- Nobody is as good or as bad as they want you to think
- You are never alone
- You are loved and valuable
- Don’t avoid the suffering…the only way out is through
- Face your truth
- It’s all about you
- Let go…let go…keep letting go…
- Kindness, beauty, truth
- Keep working to gain ground
- Smile
- Live in awareness
- Look for miracles every moment
- Rest
- Become yourself
- Never stop learning
- Your gut always knows – trust!
- Look for friends on all levels
- Listen
- Ask, seek and knock
- Don’t give yourself away to peopleo who don’t understand
- Enjoy, and laugh, at this moment – even the tough ones
- Fight to keep your heart open
- Find the value in your failures
- Surround yourself in nature
- Realize the value of your life
- Acknowledge the miracles
- Try everything you can and talk to everyone you meet
- Seek healing instead of justice or vengeance
- Keep on going
- Use Death as an Advisor
- Fear is a paper tiger/do what you fear
- Sing…LOUD
- The light is within you
- Joy and peace don’t depend on circumstances
- Don’t believe the “obstacle illusions” in your way
- The power of 40
- There is lots of Free Stuff out there
- Friends
- Love Conquers All
Ten Ways to Support Someone To Be Their Very Best
With everything we say and do, we’re influencing, positively or negatively, the people we care about. The ideal is to do this with consideration and intention. Here are ten ways you can help others see and realize the best that’s within them.
Believe in Them: We all have self-doubts from time to time. Our confidence is shaken. We lack the faith in our talents and skills to go for an important promotion or launch a new initiative. Having someone believe in you at these times is priceless. The stories of great men and women are saturated with examples of someone who believed in them even when they didn’t fully believe in themselves.
Encourage Them: “You can do it. I know you can.” These are words that are all-too-infrequently voiced. Sincere encouragement can go a long way in helping someone stay the course. The more specific you are, the better the results. “I remember when you got through your slump last year and ended up winning the sales contest. I’m willing to bet that you’ll do even better this time.”
Expect a Lot: We’re often told not to get our hopes up. We’re encouraged to have realistic expectations. But when it comes to helping others operate at their best, we sometimes have to up-level our expectations. This can be taken to extremes, but there are many times when a teacher, a parent or even a boss has required more of us than we thought we were capable. And we’ve risen to the challenge which enabled us to see further than before.
Tell the Truth: And tell it with compassion. We often avoid telling the hard truth because we don’t want to upset anyone. We want to be nice. But telling the truth is a loving act. You may be the only person who can or will say to another what needs to be said. And you can confront someone without being combative.
Be a Role Model: One of the best ways we influence is by our own actions. Who we are speaks much more loudly than what we say. Don’t think that people aren’t watching you. They are. And they’re registering everything about you consciously and unconsciously. We automatically emulate our role models. And we’re all role models to someone so let’s be good ones.
Share Yourself: Too often, we miss the value of sharing our failings. We don’t want to be vulnerable so we hold back. In doing so, we deprive others of our experience, our learning and our humanity. When you share from your own experience, especially your failures, you increase empathy, you’re more approachable and you increase your relatability to others.
Challenge Them: The word “challenge” has some negative connotations. The meaning we’re using here is, “a test of one’s abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking.” We all need to be challenged from time to time. Doing it for another is an art form. Go too far and it will backfire. Go too easy and you will appear patronizing. Remind people of their commitment to being their best and state your challenge. “I challenge you to overcome these unimportant opinions and get on with the real task at hand, get the job done, make the commitment, etc.”
Ask Good Questions: A good therapist or coach doesn’t tell their clients what to do. They ask good questions in order for the client to understand themselves better, to get clear on what the issue is and from there to make good choices. You can do the same. By asking elegant questions, you cause people to think and come up with solutions. They’ll appreciate it.
Acknowledge Them: You find what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for the best in someone, you’ll see it. If you’re looking for their failings, you’ll see those. Catch people doing things right and tell them. When we acknowledge the good deeds of others, they tend to do more of them. Write a note. Send a card. Give them a call. Praise them in front of others.
Spend Time With Them: We love what we give our time to. By devoting your most precious resource (time) to another individual, you’re showing them that you truly value them and your relationship with them. Invest time in your relationships; it’s what life is made of.
life: acoustic & amplified 