Courage--What does it take?

According to John Wayne, “Courage is being scared to death…and saddling up anyway.”
 

Think about it for a minute.  How many times, have you been frightened and yet you pushed through to overcome an obstacle, reached a life goal, or simply passed a test.

 

Look around and you’ll see famous individuals who exemplify courage --- Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Steve Jobs and Walt Disney.  Consider families who beat cancer together, children growing up without parents all over the world. Single parents sacrificing to raise children, and adult children adjusting life to care for aging parents. 

 

Simply put, courage is acting not reacting. 

 

Several years ago, my now deceased sister-in-law, Mary Shannon Campbell, introduced me to Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements.  In reading his book agreement #3 jumped off the page at me. 

It says:  “We have the tendency to make assumptions about everything. ---  Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.’

Wow, “transform my life” that sounded great!  Little did I know how many assumptions I’d need to modify.  Adjusting paradigms, and shift thinking, is simply stated, not easily achieved. It has been a real work in courage. 

Psychology Today’s, August 23, 2013 article by Melanie A. Greenberg, PhD.  In it Dr. Greenberg discusses “The Six Attributes of  Courage”.  First, choosing to act even when we feel fear, following your heart, persevering in the fact of adversity, standing up for what is right, expanding your horizons, and the sixth, facing suffering with dignity or faith. 

Dr. Greenberg states, “Courage is a universally admired attribute. From soldiers to entrepreneurs, writers to explorers, living with courage can help you to define and build the life you want.”

Here is the link to the full article and it is worth the read:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201208/the-six-attributes-courage/comments

So, I want to encourage you be courageous---adjust paradigms, and shift your thinking!
  

Do You Dream?

Over the years this blog has talked about leading, listening, planning and being SMART.

Yes we do need short term; and long term goals.  Those goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.

However we also need to dream?

My husband Ken and I schedule regular dream sessions.  We consider where we were, where we are, and where we want to be. We ask ourselves, what does the future look like?  We consider our family, our careers, our retirement, travel, even our personal development?  We dream large!!! We dream about our family legacy.

Maybe we plan a trip to the mountains - Ken is a fisherman as well as an avid hunter.  The coast is a great dreaming spot; there’s always a walk along the beach to remind us how big this world is.  And then there are times we simply stay home and unplug from the world, you know hot tub and or the swimming pool.  Although these are special times for our relationship together, our hidden purpose is to dream. 

Last weekend we flew to Alaska and celebrated the start of a dream launch. Then, on the airplane home we considered some new dreams. 

Together we’ve learned life changes, some windows open and some doors close. However when we fail to dream our relationship suffers. Life seems to loose some its’ mystery.

Ken and I are not the same people we were 43 years ago, and a good part of that is because we dream.  I recently learned that only a small percentage of people continue to change and grow after they graduate from school, they simply go on auto pilot.  That seems like such a loss.

So, how do we dream?

Independently and as a couple we’ll ask: the “what” questions.  Questions like, “What do we want?  What behavior do we need to get there? What will the end look like?”

Then there is the “who” questions.  Who would benefit?  From whom do we need help? Who needs to change thinking?”

And then there are the “how” questions? 

You get the idea.  Dreaming is asking the who, what, when, where, and how questions

Dreaming people do not simply wish they also plan, they consider the facts, gain impressions, and understand it’s going to take time. 

So back to the beginning question, do you dream?  Our hope is that you do and some day you will accomplish all those big dreams for yourself.

Oh by the way, if you’d like either of us to help, just let us know.  chubbard@azgat.com We’d love to support your dreams. 

Be Happy: Eat Happy Meals

I found this article and thought how appropriate it was for making new habits.
I hope you get something out of it.
Be Happy: Eat Happy Meals

I read a new book

Over the weekend I finished reading yet another book.  The “Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. This book intrigued me. 

Jeff indicated that only 5% of people actually implement change in their lives and walk the high road of success - that road less traveled.  Best of all, it’s not a major change we must implement it’s minor.

As I have often been told “minor changes have major impact” over a life time. That’s not new, however the stories he tells to reinforce the idea are incredible.

He used space flight, driving a car, a frog who survived in a bucket of cream and a son who started with a penny to express the impact of small change.  Small change over a long period of time changes a life.

When I finished the book I was drawn to think about the staff at Stapley Center at Great American Title.  We are not the same team we were in 2007, in fact, we change and grow every day.  I am really proud of this group.

We are stronger, have greater speed, accomplish higher goals, and help more people than we did six and a half years ago. And we continue to plan for change. Then as we change, we change our plan. We know we will die without change.

Humor me just a minute with a little history.  The Stapley office was born August of 2007.  When I walked into the office there was only an idea---“use things, love people!”.  That was it, one pen, one note pad, a computer, great administrative support and a single thought. 

Today our office has evolved to 7 escrow officers, three technical support personal, and two great marketing/strategic planning individuals. Our current vision: “Continually Build on Excellence”. 

We have likened ourselves to a basketball team.

Yes, there are a limited number of players on a basketball team and every player is critical to the team success.  The guards (our Marketing/Strategic Planning Team), the forwards (the Technical Support Members), our Center (that special EO) and the coach (our administration) banded together is what leads to our success:  We play by the same “Rules of the Game”.  Those are legal, moral, ethical, not life threatening.  Without the full drive and skill of each person we are in trouble.

We have learned to measure our success in a playbook, with our systemic methods of meeting timelines and the expectation levels of all the parties in each and every escrow/sale  transaction or marketing need.  We keep score, we want to know if we need to make a change, we are open to new ideas to deal with our evolving market.  We also hold one another accountable. We play “Zone” Ball.  This is a vital part of our office DNA.  Clarity is not realized without consistency.  We believe “Team Players” will exceed expectations by being responsible and accountable to the “Team” for success when given freedom to “Win”. “Team Players” talk to the “Coach” before taking actions that might draw a “Penalty” and cause serious setbacks to the team.

Our team loves the game.  We discuss it daily, share it together, and live the process personally.

I’ll tell you, if you have not developed a plan for yourself, read the book, “The Slight Edge”.  My biggest take away is change, but make a small change for a major impact.

Here’s the website:  http://slightedge.org