Archive for Being Lionhearted ©
What Hand Are You Holding?
There is an old song that goes like this:
- You’ve got to know when to hold them.
- Know when to fold them.
- Know when to walk away.
- Know when to run.
Sometimes, no matter the metaphorical cards and literal money on the table, the right thing to do is to fold.
If accountability and responsibility do not align with authority and control you will not be able to do what you were hired to do. In this case, you should fold your hand and walk away.
Sometimes you run.
Don’t under estimate how challenging it can be to do this. Expecially when the anticipated income you walk away from is significant.
What does it take?
Trust, Faith, Belief. Trust in yourself, that you are doing the right thing. Faith that there is a better opportunity awaiting you. Belief that the opportunity will find you. You just need to be there to see it.
You won’t be able to play in that new sandbox of opportunity, where authority and accountability are in alignment and you can make a difference, if you are still sitting at the table, playing the old game.
I’ve put my cards down and walked away, can you?
If you find yourself in this situation, remember you have a choice. Find your courage and the Lionheart Inside Yourself, to know when it is the right time to leave that game and find another. I dare you. I double dare you. I double dog dare you.
- How Well Do You Know Yourself?
I had an interesting confluence of events recently, one where I realized how things we say really can live on.
As I referenced a colleague of mine, John Agno in my statement, I sent him a link when Carol’s list came out. John parlayed the statement into his own blog article. Shortly after that, he asked if he could use the quote for the back cover of a book he was working on. Wow, was I surprised. What an honor. Guess that’s one way to get “published” when I’m lagging so far behind in my own writing…
Knowing Yourself
I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing yourself. The better you understand yourself, the more clearly you will be able to see the world around you as your remove the “lenses” through which you view the world. You will be better able to make decisions that take you towards the place you want to be in life, rather than moving you further away.
Hiring a personal coach is a great way to get some help along your personal journey. If you want to hire a coach, I can highly recommend John. I value the discussions we had years ago when he was my coach as well as the one’s we have today.
May you "ring in the season" all year long.
At the end of 2009 I wrote a post about My Wishes . I was thinking about it today and my curiosity drove me to find that blog post.
What was fascinating to me is that the song I referenced in the blog, “If Every Day Could be Christmas” is still just as impactful to me, but no longer just to me, to my daughters too. When playing holiday music earlier this week one of my daughters commented on how much she liked that song.
I was also struck by the fact that I still don’t like the concept of New Years Resolutions. They often seem to focus on things that we need to “fix.” I’d rather focus on improving or enhancing, maybe just simply accepting. Why can’t we already be “good enough!”
Last but certainly not least, I still sincerely mean every single one of my wishes. So here it is again, My Wishes now My Wishes for You and Yours.
May you find…
- Moments of Joy during times of Sorrow.
- The strength of Patience in the midst of a Crisis.
- A sense of Peace in the midst of Chaos.
May you see…
- The spark of life in every living thing.
- A silver lining in every stormy cloud.
- A reason to be happy and laugh each and every day.
May you feel…
- A sense of purpose in your life.
- Compassion for those less fortunate than you.
- Love for yourself and from others.
It is my hope and wish for each and every one of you that you find reasons to live joyfully, have many people to love, and share many moments of laughter with others.
My wish and hope is that in 2012 you will come celebrate life with me.
- Make wishes not resolutions.
- Live, love, and laugh out loud. ALOT!
If you can’t some days that’s ok too! Just remember that each day is a new day – you can always start over.
When you need to, get back in bed and get out of the other side. Not just metaphorically, but physically. See if it doesn’t help you change your outlook for the day. You might just start with a laugh. If it’s with me or at me and my ideas, that’s ok.
Laughter, whatever the trigger, will help recalibrate your day. Smiles, Laughter, and Joy are contagious.
It’s my wish that you both find some for yourself and to share it with others (me included). May you find a way for Every Day to be Christmas and for My Wishes to come true.
My best to ALL of you. May you find peace, joy, love and happiness now and forevermore.
- Nigel Marsh at TEDxSydney
Work/life balance is a topic that has gotten a fair amount of press in the last decade or so. My observation is that it has been an increasingly difficult thing to achieve with the advent of “social media” and the ease of communication via email. There are so many channels and ways to connect…but are we making the right connections, the important ones?
I found a wonderful 10 minute video by on this topic from TEDxSydney. You can pack a lot in 10 minutes, let me tell you. Nigel Marsh is the author of “Fat, Forty and Fired” and “Overworked and Underlaid.”
As this is a Ponderings & Insights article, I’ve got some questions for you to ponder:
- Do you find it difficult to balance work and life?
- How do you define the balance?
- What do you do to set boundaries?
- What timeframe are you measuring with? A single day, a week, a month or something else?
- Do you have a clear idea of where life ends and work starts?
- How do you define work?
- How do you define life, what do you include? (e.g. is working out really “life”, for me it isn’t)
- What would your ideal day look like?
Here’s an interesting quote from Nigel’s video (click here to see the video):
“There are thousands and thousands of people out there living lives of quiet, screaming desperation who work long, hard hours, at jobs they hate, to enable them to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.”
So here are some of the thoughts and insights I took away:
- Some jobs choices and careers are fundamentally in opposition to balance.
- Many of mine have been.
- Time to do a bit of reassessment…at a deeper level that I already had been.
- There are multiple dimensions that need to be cared for – the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of each of us.
- While I do know this, I’m asking myself if I am focusing enough on balancing all of them.
- Should I “schedule in” meditation time or is perhaps even needing to schedule it in a sign of a potential issue?
- Small things matter. That there is great value with focused time. Especially with your kids.
I know I’ve reached a critical point with the last one. One of my daughters has twice said this week that I am on the computer too much and has directly asked me to get off. She went on to talk with Dad about computers - that she thinks people use them too much. Not just our family, but everywhere. This wisdom…from a 9 year old.
We tell our children that winning isn’t everything but are we demonstrating that. I wonder? How often are we letting our Ego drive decision making and run the show? It needs to be heads and hearts together – feeding the mind, emotions, and soul in equal proportion.
It’s time for us to have a family meeting and talk about balance. How we want to interact. How we as a family want to define balance. Our definition of success, not the Ego’s definition. It’s time to really ”put the money where the mouth is” as the saying goes. Or perhaps, better stated as choose the option with less money, but more family time.
I don’t know what you thought, but for myself, Nigel’s ideal day doesn’t sound so bad to me. I wonder how many of us wish we had days like that? How life might truly be different if we did? Could we do this? Something to ponder. That, and how am I really going to spend my day today. What boundaries will I set? What activities will I participate in?
Here’s hoping that you find ways to have more special moments, more connected time, and more…
The Energy Elephant. Do You Bring Positive or Negative Energy?
This morning one of my favorite bloggers, Jonathan Fields, had an interesting story about a creative marking approach. Jonathan’s article made me smile (as it often does) but at the same time left me feeling a bit hollow. The marketing example he shared was funny and seriously creative.
The pitch was to shop while you are bored at work. It even included a “Boss Button”. You press the button if your boss walks buy when you are shopping. Your shopping screen is covered with a page showing ”corporate jargon” and a fake pie-chart. I agree, it was funny. I applaud the creativity.
What bothered me was the root of the humor. The humor wouldn’t have held true if it wasn’t directed at a fundamental underlying problem or experience.
- How people feel at work, their emotional state.
- What they bring to work (i.e. attitude)
- How they are using their time, or rather not using their time (i.e. manifestations of boredom/procrastination).
Here’s a link to Jonathan’s article if you are interested.
Here’s the comment (ok, rant) I left on his site.
At the same time I was laughing, I was also quite sad and feeling a bit depressed. Why, at what the “work world” seems to have come to. The attitude people tend to bring with them to work, and how many spend their day…not working.
Often times it’s not just “the company” at fault when the environment is poor. It’s also what the employees bring or don’t bring to the metaphorical table. Positive energy breeds positive energy, negative breeds negative.
There is a great difference between procrastination and boredom. Much of what appears to be boredom is actually procrastination. It’s not that they don’t have things to do, they don’t want to do them.
Just imagine if everyone kicked in gear, left the attitude at home and wanted to make a difference not matter where they were or what they were doing. That they recognized that they may not be at their optimal job doing what they love best but that a) they were employed, b) were lucky to be employed, and c) could have a positive impact wherever they are.
What they are doing doesn’t have to be forever, but rather than making the worst of it couldn’t they make the most of it for both themselves and their employer. After all, they took part of creating the situation. They accepted the job offer…otherwise they wouldn’t even be there.
Own up and own your experience. Ok, rant over.
My questions for you to ponder today are:
- What attitude do you bring with you to work?
- Are you bringing your A game?
- Do you look for ways to make positive changes or do you wait for others to “fix” problems for you?
- Do you ever reflect on the fact that you are privileged to be employed, yes privileged?
- If you don’t feel priviledged, go read about the state of the world. Don’t just rely on what you see around you.
- If you are employed, you likely have a roof over your head and food on the table. Many people do not.
- What might you accomplish today if you “turned off” the unnecessary social media? I hear complaints (and complain sometimes myself) about the overload of information.
- How much of that is within your control?
- What are you doing to yourself?
If you are unhappy with where you are, I encourage you to remind yourself that it doesn’t need to be forever. Things rarely are, even when we want them to be. In the interim, bring your A game. Make a difference where you are at this moment in time. Just think about how things around you could change if you did. As I said in my rant above, positivity breeds positivity and negativity breeds negativity.
Are you adding positive or negative energy when you are on the job? What can you do to change things for the better? Bring the Attitude of Gratitude on-line and into your life. It makes a difference. Really, it does.
Hum, time to take my own advice and buck up little doggie. I’m thankful for:
- The roof over my head – even if I dislike my too large mortgage that comes with it.
- My mostly healthy family – which is better than seriously unhealthy or passed on.
- The ability to read and to write – many cannot – and I couldn’t write this article without those basic skills. (ok, who snickered out there…thinking maybe it would be better if I didn’t have them)
- The fact that I have those extra lbs. on the hips. After all, they indicate that I have food available to me, unlike many in the world.
I’m also thankful that you found it in your heart to read this entire article. Really, thank you. May we all find ways to move ourselves and others from the negative to the positive side of the equation.
P.S. Tomorrow I’ll work on writing my list without the qualifiers attached. One step at a time, one day at a time. All forward progress, not matter how small, is good.
Almost everyone has friends of some sort or another. Just like people, friends come in all shapes and sizes. Some we may have had for years, some maybe just for a day. Not all of them necessarily close or good friends. In fact, most are likely to be surface or what I call social friendship. It’s not the length of the relationship that we should be measuring, but rather the quality of the relationship.
Social friends can be great for when you just want to get together to do something and don’t mind (or even necessarily want) a serious conversation. They can be great for lighthearted fun.
While I value all my friends, I value my true and authentic friends the most. In fact, I expect I could live fairly happily with only a handful of authentic friends and no others.
Why, because authentic friends are the people who accept you for who you are. My observation is that while social friends may listen, they aren’t really all that interested. Authentic friends listen and generally do not judge. They know all your idiosyncrasies and like you anyway. You must admit it, we all have idiosyncrasies. Some of which drive others around us crazy.
I think it is important to choose your friends wisely. To invest your time, attention, and emotional energy on those that are truly authentic already as well as those that could become authentic.
- Who would you miss if you could never talk to them again and what about them would you miss?
- Who would you not miss if you didn’t see them again?
- Do you have friends that you feel drained after interacting with them?
- Who do you spend your time with?
If it is predominately people in the second category I’d like to stop and very seriously think about why is that? What are you getting from those interactions? Is perhaps a spouse getting something from your friendships but you are not? If you answer not much (or something like that), I’d like you to very seriously ask yourself why do you hold on to those friendships, whether they are really important, and what would be the worst that would happen if you stopped spending time with them.
If you are spending much time with people in the third category, the one that leaves you drained. My strong advice is run for the hills if you can. Ok, well first you should do the same analysis for the second category. It may be that this person is just having a rough patch in life and leaning on you quite a bit. However if the person is chronically in a rough patch you need to ask yourself if they actually want to get out. Maybe they are gaining something (e.g., time, attention, financial support) from living in crisis mode.
Here’s the “Backstory” (and hopefully a laugh or two)
Earlier this week, Cranky and Depressed Faith showed up for a while. She was feeling tired, frustrated, and down about some things that had happened. I vented a bit via email to two of my friends, friends I put in the authentic category. It was nice to feel like I could talk with someone about how I was really feeling. The first, Gail, was great about helping to reframe some things and telling me to cut myself some slack. She was right. I had real reasons to be tired and feel overwhelmed. I was adding additional pressure to myself that I really didn’t need to. The second friend helped me through their honesty and through humor. Chris did not judge, he simply said I’m here, I’m your friend, and I’m available to talk. Chris’s email helped me to feel better all by itself. To simply know someone cared about my mental and emotional state. Chris went a bit further when he sent along a second email. One I’d like to share.
Faith
Ok – this is the best I can manage on the run! Will have to tide you over for a bit until I can manage a better response!
Chris
A paraprosdokian - A figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax.
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I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
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I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
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Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
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The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.
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Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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If I agreed with you we’d both be wrong.
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We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
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War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good evening’, and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
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To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
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Some people are like Slinkies … not really good for anything, but you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.
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I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
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I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with “Guess” on it…so I said “Implants?”
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Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
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Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
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Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ?
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A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
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You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
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Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
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A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.
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Hospitality: making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were.
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I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.
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Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
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I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.
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I always take life with a grain of salt, plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.
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When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
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You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
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To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
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Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
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Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.
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If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?
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Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
In Conclusion
I was in complete stitches when I got done reading the list. Getting this list was the final step in kicking out Cranky and Depressed Faith. I hope it too made you laugh. If not at all, at just a few.
Authentic friends. They are the one’s that can lift you up when you are down, “get you” but still like you, will go to bat for you, and are willing to share your life journey – if even for a day or two.
How do you get more authentic friends? By being more authentic yourself. It’s that simple. Like the old cereal commercial with Mikey. “Try it, you’ll like it.”
A Final Word of Thanks
Gail and Chris - Thanks for helping lift me up when I was down. Your work here is done.
Elaine - Thanks for working with me to take our friendship to the next level. To be authentic in all our interactions from this point forward. You just need to say what you are thinking and not make me work so hard to read between the lines! As I said before, you have my permission. Use it. No guilt required my friend. :-)
Does your lens distort what you see?
I’d like to begin by asking you to reflect on this famous quote by philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
- “I think, therefore I am.”
I expect that most of you have heard this phrase before, but have you stopped to think about what it might mean? Both what Descartes intended as well as other ways it might be interpreted? What did this phrase bring to mind for you? If you would like to read more about René Descartes and the origins of this phrase, click here.
I’d like to now pose another question.
- What’s the value of self awareness?
For some of you, your first reaction might be “what is self awareness.” To me, self awareness is simply being aware of yourself – your thought patterns, your motivations, your typical as well as atypical behaviors. It’s about knowing who you are, what you believe, and how you operate.
We are always interpreting things. Always and forever, we cannot help it. What has come before, the past, influences how we presently see things. What we are currently thinking about, recent experiences, our current emotional states, as well as our intended outcomes affects how we perceive things in both small and large ways. Are you conscious or unconscious of this?
Another way you might think about self-awareness is as the ability to step outside of yourself to observe yourself. In this manner, you become both the actor and the observer. The more self-aware you are, the more innately you do this – both consciously and unconsciously.
Everything we do is viewed through our personal filters and lenses. I personally prefer to focus on lenses, as this implies that I can both recognize it and have the ability to remove it. Filters, while useful to notice, are more difficult to impact directly. As a side note regarding self awareness, my preference for lenses over filters could be considered a filter/lens itself…
When self awareness is very low, the outcome is frequently a distortion – of events, of emotions, and of statements made by others. As self awareness goes down, our bias and skewing of information, data, intentions, and people goes up. Conversely, the more self aware you are, the more you can reduce the filters and/or lenses that you apply and see with clarity.
As we become more conscious of ourselves and these elements, I believe that we are better able to “remove” what I refer to as the various “lenses that we place over our eyes.” We gain the ability to question your own thoughts and reactions. As a result, we are able to become more objective in our evaluations and interpretations.
The more self aware we are, the closer we automatically align our outward behaviors with our inner standards. We become better able to observe when they are not in sync.
With this new context, I’d like you to once again think about this question for just a moment.
- What’s the value of self awareness?
Now let me pose a series of questions to you:
- What’s the value of your own self awareness?
- What’s the value of interacting with another individual who is self aware?
- What would be the value of higher self awareness in general, in all people?
Now some more questions – none of them trick questions, just reflection questions, I promise.
- What frame of reference were you using for the initial question? Yourself, someone else, in general?
- How did thoughts/reactions to the first question compare to the next three?
- Did you have yet another viewpoint than the three I mentioned? If so, what triggered that viewpoint?
Let’s now take it a step further…
- What’s the value of a manager who is self-aware?
- What’s the value of a leader who is self-aware?
I don’t know about you, but those questions give me some serious food for thought. I can see real changes happening if the level of self awareness went up.
Wondering why I mentioned “Color” in the title? A “tip of the hat” to the old saying about “wearing rose colored glasses”. No, I don’t want, nor do I wear rose colored glasses. That being said, I do believe that a little pink hue is better than the dreary old grey I see too much of these days. My hope is that we can all find ways to make our lenses a bit more clear. To remove those various layers of color, one at a time. To see ourselves and others with better clarity.
If you haven’t already, I invite you to read two prior articles, Stop, Look, and Listen and A Matter of Perspective, Experience, and Imagination. Why you ask…because they might just help you with your own self-awareness and awareness of the world around you. And that my reader, is the entire point of this article. Cheers.
The concept of courage has been front and center in my mind lately. For those of you reading for a while, you may have observed that I have been building up to this. There are connections, both directly and thematically in many of my blogs about driving change. Most specifically within The Revolution of One, Stop, Look and Listen, Anatomy of a Change Agent, Penguin Leadership, and Being Lionhearted©.
I believe that we are at multiple crossroads. I see the need for significant changes within businesses, within the political arena, and within social structures. All three of these are connected in multiple ways across multiple dimensions.
I’ve come to the conclusion that we don’t just need Change Agents, that we need Lionhearted Change Agents ©. That to truly drive the changes we need, more people will need to step out of their comfort zones. Many of us need to be more courageous more often. We must be aware of “social norming” and combat it at the source. Not just how we act, but also how we react.
After writing Being Lionhearted©, I posted the following question in Linked In.
What does courage cost? How is it rewarded or suppressed? It takes great courage to drive long term, sustainable change? What can be done to build courage in today’s environment?
I had several motivations for doing this. Not the least of which was to generate a dialog within a group of individuals who should already be Change Agents. To ask them to think further and deeper about courage. To encourage and challenge them to become more courageous themselves.
One of the participates in the on-line dialog is Bill Treasurer. Bill is founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting (GLC), a courage-building company. Bill established this company in 2002 to help people and organizations live more courageously. He is the author of Courage Goes to Work, a book about how to inspire more courageous behavior in workplace settings. His first book, Right Risk, is about how to take smart risks. It draws on Bill’s experiences as a daredevil athlete. Personally, I can’t imagine diving off of 100 foot platforms like he did! Yikes. Talk about Courage.
I had a chance to speak voice-to-voice with Bill regarding his background and experiences. Bill believes “…that with less fear and more courage, workers take on harder projects, deal better with change, and speak up more willingly about important issues.” I agree wholeheartedly with him.
Bill’s view is “…that individually and organizationally, people can generally be divided into two camps: safety-seekers and opportunity-seekers. During times of heightened anxiety or uncertainty, such as NOW, the Camp Safety swells with refugees. There is a danger in this flight to safety. Just when our organizations need us to provide ground-breaking (and tradition-defying) ideas, we are, instead, hunkering down underneath our desks.”
Below are some of Bill’s tips for helping you be more courageous at work. This list was extracted from his latest article, The First Virtue.
- “Be Mindful of the Risks of Not Risking. The risk of inaction is usually more perilous than the risk of action. As you consider a risk, be clear about the dangers of not taking the risk, too.
- Ask the Holy Question. Here are the four most important words you’ll ever learn in the English language: What do you want? Most people don’t take the time to answer that question with specificity. Those who do, however, are in a much better position to figure out the actions they need to take in order to get what they want.
- Have Something to Prove. Take on challenges that cause you to have to prove yourself to yourself. When the going gets rough, having something to prove can be a source of energy and motivation.
- Make Forward-Falling Mistakes. Making no mistakes is just as dangerous as making too many. Have a “mistake ratio,” a good balance between not making enough mistakes and making too many. As long as the mistakes you make are forward-falling, you’re making progress.
- Harness Fear. Fear is a normal, natural and necessary part of the work experience. While uncomfortable, fear has energy, and that energy can be useful when facing tough challenges. Harness your fear by spending time with it. The more you experience the thing that you’re afraid of, the more desensitized you become to it.
- Jump First. The best way to encourage those around you to be more courageous is to be more courageous yourself … first! Ask yourself, “When was the last time you did something courageous that probably left a favorable impression on the people you work with?” In other words, when did you last jump first?”
You can learn more about Courage Goes to Work, Bill’s international bestseller, at www.couragegoestowork.com. Bill’s newest courage material, Courageous Leadership: Using Courage to Transform the Workplace, comes out in early 2011. It’s an off-the-shelf courage-building training program being published by Pfeiffer. Personally, I can’t wait to see it.
My hope is that you can find a bit more courage within yourself. That you not just Own Your Elephant , but that you Find Your Lion Inside. That you take positive action rather than just observing or standing aside. It takes time, courage, and energy. I’m hoping that you can find a bit more inside yourself and join my Change Revolution. Cheers.
After the World Business Forum 2010 I took advantage of being in New York City and went to see Wicked on Broadway. All I can say is that the current cast is Amazing! While I am enjoying the CD from the original cast, the voices of the current leads are even better. My metaphorical hat and standing ovation to Mandy Gonzalez (Elphaba) and Katie Rose Clarke (Glinda). Both their individual voices as well as the blend was superb. Andy Karl’s (Fiyero) dancing and singing brought a smile to my face.
As I watched the story unfold I was amazed at the number of important messages embedded within the story itself. It almost felt like a life lesson while watching the wonderful cast dance, sing, and entertain. I’ve commited to my children to take them to see it soon. I feel that not only would they enjoy the story but that there are life lessons they can observe. It also gives us a platform for discussing situations and behaviors.
A few of the elements of the story include:
- Being true to yourself and your beliefs
- How people are measured and valued
- Caring for, helping, and supporting others in need
- Social pressures
- Giving everyone a chance – recognizing them for who they are inside and not just outside
- How the labels given to history and the “spin” change how we view things
- The “spin” the Press does and the true power of that spin - to completely mislead and misrepresent
- The value of working together - In one song Glinda and Elphaba sing about “…together we are unlimited…”
During the show I kept thinking over and over about the importance of understanding the “backstory.” The true history of a situation. Not what was fabricated by the press and those in power.
If you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz, you know that the Wicked Witch of the West is the “bad guy.” You know this, absolutely know this for sure.
However, once you understand the backstory, the true history, you learn:
- Elphaba, The Wicked, had a truly generous heart. She was extremely loving and kind.
- The Wizard isn’t actually kind and helpful. He is actually a “bad guy” in many ways, working the system and manipulating others.
- Glinda (formerly known as Galinda) begins the story as very egotistical and grows through her relationship with Elphaba.
- Glinda faces the choices she has made and accepts responsibility for them – changing herself in the process.
- Glinda and Elphaba initally loath each other.
- They evolve into best friends by looking inside, understanding, and valuing each other as individuals.
- Elphaba was painted as Wicked by the Wizard and the Press Secretary for trying to help others and standing up to injustice.
- While Elphaba was persecued for being Being Lionhearted © she never gave up on doing the right thing, no matter the cost. She accepts the “label” of The Wicked in the name of doing good.
So what does this tell us?
- You need to look at the history, the drivers and motivations, not just the current situation.
- You should challenge “labels” given to people and seek to truly understand, not just accept them at face value.
- Look for the person inside, not just the outside they show the world. They might be quite different.
- Understanding the backstory is critical for understanding the truth of any current situation.
The truth is out there. May you Stop, Look, and Listen to find it. For those interested in knowing more about Wicked the Musical, here’s the description from USA Today.
“So much happened before Dorothy dropped in. Long before that girl from Kansas arrives in Munchkinland, two girls meet in the Land of Oz. One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.
How these two grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good makes for “the most complete, and completely satisfying, new musical in a long time.”
Pictures from www.gershwintheatre.com
Are you Being Lionhearted © or are you just one of the crowd?
The second day of the World Business Forum 2010 is complete. The speakers today talked about economics, the environment, politics, culture, product selection, survival, and the film industry to name a few. One theme that emerged for me was the need for courage.
This is something that I have been pondering for a while. The courage that it will take from many individuals, both on their own and working together to drive true, lasting, sustainable change.
Do you have the courage to:
- Focus on the Long-term, not just the Short-term?
- Change the way you make decisions?
- Make the less “popular” choices?
- Make the choices for sustainability?
- Speak the truth, not just what sounds good?
- Dig into the details, not just the sound bits?
- Be a Leader, not just a Manager or Executive?’
- Talk about the Elephants in the room?
- Change yourself?
Courage comes from many places and many sources. But must come from within to be sustained. Are you courageous? I’m working on my Lion’s heart. Come join me.
More to come about Being Lionhearted: The Courage to Change © soon. In the interim, see the WBF Bloggers Hub for comments and questions about being courageous.
Book to come – ebook or other tbd.
In the interim, visit the Ponders & Insights over the next weeks and months for more on this topic.
I would love to hear back from you about how you are courageous, when and where you have had the courage to change, and what you feel it takes to stand up and go against the crowd to do what you feel is right.
Do you have stories about having the courage to change yourself and to be an example to others? If so, I would love to hear them.
