Mastering the Context

Daddy and Zoe-Faye

2011-07-27T23:29:00.001-07:00

This was right before her first haircut. She wasn't so happy afterwards...

Happy moment with Joy

This is one special woman...

Zions Park with the priests

2011-07-27T23:24:00.001-07:00

Great times.

Entrance to Subway at Zions

We'll have to go back when we can actually hike it.

ZF taking a message

Who?

Burning buns

2011-03-12T15:58:00.001-07:00

It's not even April and the kids are already burning their buns on the car seats. I'll rake the AZ sun over snow any day though.

Find Your Purpose, Find Your Courage

2009-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

The other day, Helen and I met with a business coach. We discussed some concepts and got to know each other better. As we talked I gained great insight into my life, and learned a great deal that will certainly be a catalyst for maximizing my results the rest of this year and next. I know they can be of use to you too:

1. Your personality is who you are when you are afraid
2. Expectations, that aren't communicated, always cause disappointment
3. Operate from a platform of solid mutual agreements
4. Get rid of flimsy agreements in your life
5. What is your purpose?
6. Why aren't you living it?
7. If you are married, what do you and your spouse's purposes' have in common?

The Hedgehog Concept:

Greatness comes about by a series of good decisions consistent with a simple, coherent concept— a “Hedgehog Concept.” The Hedgehog Concept is an operating model that reflects understanding of three intersecting circles: what you can be the best in the world at, what you are deeply passionate about, and what best drives your economic or resource engine.

The Stockdale Paradox:

Retain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND AT THE SAME TIME have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Confronting The Brutal Reality

1. External Realities
-ECONOMICAL
A. Business
B. Environment
C. Market
D. Competition

-SOCIETAL
A. Government Involvement
B. Educational Focus
C. Trends
D. Media

2. Goals
-MIND
A. Education

-BODY
A. Finance
B. Fitness

-SOUL
A. Faith
B. Family

3. Internal Realities
-LEVEL OF INFLUENCE
A. Learner
B. Performer
C. Leader
D. Leader Developing Leaders
E. A Leader of Developers of Leaders

-PHYSICAL
A. Strength
B. Cardio
C. Body Fat
D. Energy

-MENTAL
A. Mental Sharpness
B. Capabilities
C. Strategy
D. Assets

-EMOTIONAL
A. Strength of Character
B. Attitude
C. Confidence
D. Passions

4. Rigorous Exploration & Clarification of The Above
A. Become a True Seeker - "If it ain't broke...brake it!"
B. The Feedback Loop - Plan, Do, Check, Adjust

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?:

A. Would you define your hedgehog concept?...How
B. Would you confront the brutal reality?...How
C. Would you live more courageously?...How

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

The American Crisis, Part 3

2009-03-09T00:21:00.026-07:00

The Cultural Battle: "A World Without Heroes"

"...Education seeks truth; anti-heroism denies its existence. Education seeks meaning in human life, justice in human affairs, dignity in human aspirations. Anti-heroes deny human purpose save evolutionary survival." George Roche

"We ourselves do not wish to predict the future but to change it. For this we must understand the present by identifying its dominant ideas and the salesmen and preachers of those ideas." George Roche

As discussed in The American Crisis, Part 1, there are 2 battles being waged in our world today, the personal battle, and the cultural battle. The main strife within each of these two battles is caused by a difference in the way we see things, or our world view:

1.God Created Man
-or-
2. Man Created God

We've already discussed the personal battle we are facing as we are being programmed in such a way that we begin to limit ourselves because of the faulty programming we've received. These become our limiting beliefs and are all but invisible to one who has no other information source to compare them to. But as I discussed in part 1, we can begin to root these out by listening to, and recording our self-talk. Only then can we begin to think about what we're really thinking about. But we still need a correct source by which we may measure those faulty beliefs against new ones, or vice versa. Will that source be God, or man?

The Judeo-Christian world view says that God created man; we are, each one of us made in the image of a loving Heavenly Father and we are accountable to Him as our creator.

The anti-heroic world view says that man created the idea of a god and therefore we are accountable to no one for anything we think, say, or do. As George Roche describes in his book, A World Without Heroes, the anti-heroic cause has snowballed to a point of creating a "complete - and completely false - conception of life and reality. This 'new' view, inverting moral law and values, appears in its fullness not a product of thought but of pride and lust or darker urges. It is an evil impulse, destroying knowledge, making the fine arts ugly, turning language into babble, educating our children for the anthill, and unleashing our meanest and most bestial cravings. It wars on the best in us and empties life of transcendent meaning."

From a practical standpoint, disregarding your religious or spiritual beliefs, who would you rather have as a neighbor to you and your family... someone who lives, and holds himself accountable to the 10 commandments, ie. "thou shalt not lie, kill, or steal," or someone who is accountable to no one but their own carnal desires.

You might have them both over for dinner, but only one would you allow grandma's fine china to be left unattended.

Within this cultural battle, there are four areas that are currently under attack by the anti-hero:

-Education
-Business
-National Beliefs
-Individual Achievement

1. Education
-"The egalitarian's hatred of excellence has metastasized throughout culture. In order to lower everyone down to the lowest common denominator, egalitarianism sacrifices the achiever. No where is this more dramatic and tragic than in education. High schools on both coasts are dispensing with the awards that would honor seniors. They don't select the most likely to succeed, or the most talented. These schools no longer offer class ranking, nor do they select a class valedictorian. In today's age of achievement hatred, it is ok to spend millions on playground psychopaths, but it's considered morally low to honor a bright student. If you've ever wondered, why the number of great artists, intellects, and achievers has dwindled, you should blame egalitarianism." Dr. Gary Hall

-"The schools have been subjected to egalitarian doctrines in pure form. The order of the day is leveling, and in practice that means reducing instruction to the capabilities of the dullest in the class: to the lowest common denominator. The handicaps of the slow are pampered, while the talents of the gifted are distrusted and suppressed. Those frustrated kids with something going for them are bored to tears and often rebel. The dullards plod on through, and in time, and with every inducement government aid can offer, go on to be university graduate students and the new 'intellectuals.'..we mass-produce them nowadays, in absurd numbers, and all weaned on anti-heroic dogmas. The explosive radicalism and anarchism on public campuses in recent decades give all-too-ample evidence that the anti-heroes use public schooling to train their successors. No one need be surprised if these plods home in unerringly on a protected career in public service, often, heaven help us, in teaching. And so the mischief continues." George Roche

2. Business
-"...when men are free politically, there will be inevitably, economic inequalities." Edmund Opitz

-"There will continue to be rich and poor, as there have been in every society since history began, but with this difference: the wealthy will be chosen by the daily balancing of their peers in the market place." Edmund Opitz

-"I think that where the greatest impact on the culture might have been, in other times, the church, education, the family, the greatest impact now is business. Everywhere one looks, it seems to me that short-term thinking in business is the greatest impact on our culture. And that's leadership, because it's certainly educating kids to believe there's nothing between winning and losing...Short-term thinking is the social disease of our time." Norman Lear

3. National Beliefs
-"...Nations are aggregates of individual thinking. National moods and national preoccupations tend to become national experiences and directions." Warren Brooks

A. The American Religion:
-"To unite the American people, the Founders undertook to find those basic beliefs set forth in the Bible on which people of all religious faiths could agree. It turned out that Benjamin Franklin struck the most harmonious chord for everyone in his own personal creed. In a letter to Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University, the 81-year-old Franklin wrote:

'Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That He governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshiped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion.'

A careful analysis of Franklin's creed reflects five points of fundamental religious belief which are either expressed or implied and these have been guideposts for Americans for over two centuries. Perhaps these could be summarized as follows:

1. There exists a Creator who made all things, and mankind should recognize and worship him.
2. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.
3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat one another.
4. All mankind live beyond this life.
5. In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.

All five of these tenets are abundantly evident throughout the writings of the Founding Fathers." W. Cleon Skousen, The Majesty of God's Law.

B. Character Based Leadership:
-"Developing character and vision is the way leaders invent themselves." Warren Bennis, On Becoming A Leader.

-"Integrity is the basis of trust, which is not as much an ingredient of leadership as it is a product. It is the one quality that can not be acquired, but must be earned." Warren Bennis

-"Our quality of life depends on the quality of our leaders." Warren Bennis

-"The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression." Ralph Waldo Emerson

-"Leaders have a significant role in creating the state of mind that is the society. They can serve as symbols of the moral unity of the society. They can express the values that hold the society together. Most important, they can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations, carry them above the conflicts that tear a society apart, and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts." John W. Gardner

-"Honor is such a rarely used word in our times that it seems a little old-fashioned. But living a life of integrity and character is timeless and, for a leader, absolutely necessary. It's about choices, and a person's choices in life follow him to the grave." Chris Brady & Orrin Woodward, Launching a Leadership Revolution.

C. The Sanctity of Life:
-"There is no new morality. Men cannot invent what is right and wrong; that was given to us, and people of all cultures and faiths have cleaved largely to the same concepts throughout all history. Only with the rise of anti-heroism have men dared declare systematically that wrongs are the new rights, that promiscuity is sexual liberation, that dictators can kill dissenters and women their babies if we use the right words and incantations, and so on." George Roche

4. Individual Achievement
-"...All genuine superiority grows from a sense of inferiority. The person who admits his inferiority and then does something about it, develops superiority." Henry Link

-"...People have always learned more from their mistakes than from their success. But when the price of mistakes is eliminated, the result is confusion, and loss of motivation to do better." Dr. Karl Menninger

***As mentioned before, we must have a correct source, against which we may measure those faulty beliefs.***

THE SOURCE:
-"Our past has not been destroyed. Our faith lives. From our roots and living moral teachings we have a framework of truth and knowledge against which the assertions of anti-heroism can be weighed." George Roche

THE SOLUTION:

1. Encourage and edify anyone we see doing heroic work.
2. Find a mentor that challenges you to grow.
3. Start a personal development program.
4. Join a community of like-minded individuals.
5. Learn about free enterprise and start your own business.
6. Learn the foundational Judeo-Christian principles of our nation.
7. Accept responsibility to teach the above to everyone you can.

***The leaders of the future will be those who take the next step - to change the culture. Change must start within you, which is then carried on to others, who carry it to others, so on and so forth.***

THE FUTURE:
-"The future is taking shape now in our own beliefs and in the courage of our leaders. Ideas and leadership - not natural or social 'forces' - are the prime movers in human affairs."

-"In the words, 'Thy will be done,' is our life and our joy and our heroic vision. We have only to accept them to find the serenity we thought lost in a World Without Heroes." George Roche

Keep Moving Forward

Rusty Robson

For source, please see the above referenced books and the audio CD, "Where Have All The Heroes Gone?" by Orrin Woodward, best selling author and chairman of the Team LDSP.

The American Crisis, Part 2

2009-01-29T21:49:00.013-07:00

THE PERSONAL BATTLE:

“He knows not how to rule a kingdom, that cannot manage a province; nor can he wield a province, that cannot order a city; nor he order a city, that knows not how to regulate a village; nor he a village, that cannot guide a family; nor can that man govern well a family that knows not how to govern himself; neither can any govern himself unless his reason be lord...” Hugo Grotius (1583-1645)

The first, and the last, battle we will engage in along our leadership journey, is the battle with ourselves. And as Hugo Grotius so eloquently states, "neither can any govern himself unless his reason be lord." In other words, we're gonna need help, and a lot of it. Self-mastery is hard enough, but when you throw in the constant barrage of Anti-Hero egalitarianism, which brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator, you could say we've got a real battle on our hands.

There's better than a 95% chance that 95% of us were raised with faulty programming which has created deeply set, limiting beliefs. These beliefs have tightly fastened the lid on achieving our full potential. Just like when you close the lid tightly on a jar full of fleas, they will only jump and hit their head against the lid for so long until they just stop jumping. Then when the lid is removed, the fleas remain captive because they have been programmed to believe that they can never jump out.

The first big guns we face then, in our battle for self-mastery and excellence, will be our limiting beliefs. One of the reasons these weapons are so dangerous is because most of the time, we don't even know they exist, much less limit us. One day I was prompted to get out a piece of paper and put down all the "you can't do this," or "you're not worthy of that," statements that run through my head, almost on automatic, and I found that as I looked at my limiters on paper, they became exposed as the out right lies that they really were. I learned that day that limiting beliefs can only be exposed through listening to, and taking note of our self-talk. If we don't root these out, they eventually become true, just as a self-fulfilling prophecy. So let's start with some big ones that are very common in our society today:

1. Fate vs. Destiny

-Fate says, "I have no control; why try; just waiting for my ship to come in; it's the luck of the draw; que sera sera, what ever will be will be; I'm a victim."

-Destiny believes, "I've been called by a higher power to do something great. I can tap into His vision, work hard and serve, knowing that I'm responsible to follow Him and He's responsible for the results. Where ever He takes me, I'm O.K. Ultimately, you control your thoughts; your thoughts control your actions; your actions produce your habits; and your habits produce your destiny."

2. Self -or- Service

-Self says, "It's all about me," and "Who cares, as long as it doesn't effect me."

-Service knows that in a true win/win environment, if you serve others, you will naturally be lifted up to victory after victory.

3. Ease -or- Excellence

-Ease clings to, "Success should come easy," or "I'm just going to play it safe."

-Excellence has seen that anything worthwhile takes effort. A good marriage takes work. Leadership takes work. And anything else fulfilling takes courage, discipline, focus and determination. Excellence says, "I'd rather deal with the price of excellence, than the pain of regret."

4. Relativism vs. Absolutes

-Relativism believes in situational ethics. "Maybe being honest all the time is right for you, but it's not for me." "If he feels like stealing once in a while, let him do it." That's a great idea, until it happens to me.

-Absolutes say, know why you believe what you believe. Not sure where to start? Try Exodus 20:2–17 in the Bible for starters and find 10 absolutes for happy living, whether you're Jew or Gentile; Muslim or Hindu. Survey after survey says the #1 thing people want in a leader is...Character.

5. Competition

-If someone else is winning, I must be losing. Criticize and get angry when others are winning. Dog eat dog. Compare my worst to their best.

-The power of the team. Help others win and I will win. Don't worry about the other guy, just do your best, give full effort. If you are prepared, ye shall not fear.

I have come to realize that if I'm not where I'd like to be, I need to start by checking my self-talk. Negative self-talk leads to fear, fear causes in-action, in-action causes lack of experience, lack of experience breeds ignorance, and ignorance perpetuates more fear. Expose your limiting beliefs, confront them, let your reason be Lord, and He will cause the change.

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

[See the audio CD, "Four Laps," by Orrin Woodward for reference].

The American Crisis, Part 1

2009-01-21T18:05:00.004-07:00

It was first printed in the Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776.The writing of this particular piece was of special historical interest as it was written during the retreat of General George Washington and his troops across the Delaware, and by order of the Commander, was read to his group of dispirited and suffering soldiers. Thomas Paine, the author, had written the American Crisis, and in doing so had waged literary warfare against the Hessians for the cause of freedom. It's opening sentence was adopted as the watchword of the movement on Trenton, a few days after its publication, and is believed to have inspired much of the courage which won that victory, and eventually would go down in history as the words that would salvage the revolution.

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and women. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

Just as our forefathers fought then, we fight now; but as the Apostle Paul said "...we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

There are two battlegrounds here, and the proverbial line in the sand has been drawn on each of these two fields of battle:

1. The Personal Battle
2. The Cultural Battle

The main strife within each of these two battles is caused by a difference in the way we see things, or our world view:

1. God Created Man
-or-
2. Man Created God

This will be the premise for our discussion...

Keep Moving Forward,

Rusty Robson

-- Post From My iPhone

A John Adams Perspective

2009-01-14T14:30:00.013-07:00

In a letter from our second President, John Adams, to his wife Abagail, Mr. Adams writes, with a conviction rarely seen these days, the reason for his study of government. In that time he saw that the liberty pendulum had gone to the far left towards tyranny and that the answer would be through self education and action. I believe our current situation has come to a crossroads where we need to get back to the same mixture of self education and action in our local precincts.

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy... in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry & music..." John Adams

In a conversation I had with a close friend, I shared this quote as the reason for my wanting to get more involved in the political arena. He said "I could never be a politician." I believe many good people are standing idly by because of a media based point of reference that leaves us with the belief that there's nothing we can do and that even if we could [do something] we would rather leave it to the "politicians." This is very dangerous, for as John Adams says, "There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty" John Adams, Journal, 1772.

You can start in your own communities. Get in contact with your local party (Rep. or Dem.) headquarters in the area, and ask for information on how to become a precinct committeeman. This will allow you to see and hear what is happening in your community and therefore be able to help create positive change at the local level. The type of change that preserves our constitution rather than trying to arbitrarily change it based on current standards/world view.

If enough people, who were thoughtfully self-educating, were involved when things like the F.O.C.A. bill (freedom of choice act) are on the table, the media or "politicians" would be powerless in feeding us their spun propaganda, because we would be armed with the truth, and the truth shall set us free.

"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." John Adams

Get involved and...

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

Predicting our financial future

2008-10-20T13:31:00.003-07:00

These videos by Mr. Rich Dad himself, Robert Kiyosaki, had a great impact on me. I have an even greater burn to free myself from the rat race by following these admonitions. If you don't already have a vehicle that can create independence, I suggest you find one that is properly positioned with the right Product + Operating System + Team Support. I have done my due diligence and have chosen the industry of Networking/Community Building for it's low entry fee, flexibility, training, unlimited potential and ability to make the biggest impact in the lives of others. Please find a vehicle YOU feel good about and COMMIT.

The Federal Reserve can print it's own money, why don't you! (Legally)

Keep Moving Forward

Rusty Robson

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

John Wooden's Leadership Pyramid and the Four Phases of Depth, Part 2

2008-10-20T12:25:00.005-07:00

DO'S AND DON'TS:

-Most people don't lead long enough, consistently enough to get and sustain momentum.
-When you lose momentum, the opponent/guy next to you, doesn't just slightly pull ahead, you get left in the dust.
-Fast can start at any time - if you sustain, explosion can happen at any time.
-Get good with people to make this happen. If you want to help them, help them like you.

TOP 10 COMMONLY MADE MISTAKES WHEN DEALING WITH PEOPLE:

10. Talking too much about your dreams instead of theirs.
Remedy - What's in it for them?
9. Talk too much.
Remedy - Give the shortest answer that will work to satisfy them. [Use less words - when in doubt, ask a question].
8. Hurt people's feelings.
Remedy - Get rid of the offensive things that you say. Learn how to speak softly, with warmth.
7. Promote too much all at once & overwhelm people.
Remedy - Promote instead, W.I.N. [What's Important Next] for this person.
6. You allow your own feelings to get hurt.
Remedy - GET OVER YOU. Get thicker skin. Die to self. Don't let them hurt your feelings because the next one needs you to love on them and they probably didn't mean it anyways.
5. Don't show heart/get warm enough with people.
Remedy - Get deep with folks. Talk about how you feel about your Country, God, Family. Talk about them and their dreams/what motivates them. Talk about the cause and show them some warmth and love.
4. Don't make them feel important/don't spend enough time building them up.
Remedy - If you'll find people's strengths and point them out, you'll be shocked at how they blossom and achieve greatness.
3. Don't show enough confidence or belief in this idea.
Remedy - Work harder, listen to more cd's, read more books. Be INTO what you're IN. It's not important that THEY BELIEVE it; it's important that they believe YOU BELIEVE it.
2. Don't show enough enthusiasm/boring.
Remedy - People have to feel that you're excited. You'll either transfer excitement or boredom.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......

1. Don't show enough plans.
Remedy - This is a business of developing leaders and if you're not showing enough plans, you're not leading, you're managing. Get your sword bloody by getting into action.

**You can counsel yourself if you know the right questions to ask:
1. Where am I digging?
2. How deep has it gone since the major with you at the helm?
3. Who above there could be the next Power Player?
4. What's driving me?

The Dream gives you the Discipline to dig the Depth.

Happy Digging

Rusty Robson - P.S. Please listen to Chris Brady's CD "The 4 phases of Depth" as the source for this material.

John Wooden's Leadership Pyramid and the Four Phases of Depth

2008-10-18T16:31:00.012-07:00

In this article I wish to connect some principles taught in John Wooden's book with the master strategy in community building called DEPTH. Let me start with defining two very important concepts:

1. John Wooden's definition of Success - "Success is peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."

2. Driving DEPTH - This is the master strategy in networking/community building. This includes going house to house by rotating a simple pattern with new prospects resulting in 1 of 2 things; a partner or a client. This is the master strategy because it ties into Robert Kiyosaki's 3 keys to wealth of long term vision, delayed gratification and the power of compounding. This is meant to be done first as an individual, then as a team.

Next I will go through the 4 phases of making this all happen. This should give you, the leader, perspective as you build your teams and direction so you can lead the way in maximizing your potential using the pyramid above while spreading your work ethic for others to duplicate. By the way, in most businesses, the tendency is to either quickly hand off responsibility to the new guy and manage or take all the glory yourself as the "star of the show." On The Team, the culture is for a leader to take responsibility for growth at the bottom of his/her teams and give away all the credit to the people up above.

Addition Phase 1 - Get a grip:
-Utilize your team approach techniques.
-Leaders are wanted to take responsibility to make the bottoms grow.
-Don't leave steps to new guy.
-Rotate each of the 5 steps your self with each person.
-Look for the hungry (hungry better than "Sharp").
-Connect and build the relationship with the hungry student.
-Some of this will feel like wasted time - but this is how you build traction.

Addition Phase 2 - Building momentum:
-Progress begins to occur.
-This leads to excitement.
-Numbers begin to grow, i.e. open attendance, cd count, seminar ticket count.
-Feels like a breath of fresh air.

Multiplication Phase 3 - Sustaining momentum:
-Takes discipline not to get cocky
-To sustain, push harder. Open the windows all the way!!
-Excitement leads to results - Side legs begin to happen.
-Consistency, not fanaticism, is required.
-People think they're better than they really are, stop selling themselves short.
-Creates lasting belief, they begin to see themselves as you see them.
-Give away the glory, edify, don't strut, be invisible by giving spotlight to others.
-Numbers begin to multiply - even when you're not there.

Exponential Phase 4 - Explosion:
-Results have prospered in to belief.
-Side legs are exploding.
-Hungry people begin to blossom in to great leaders.
-Side legs sprout side legs, that sprout side legs, which leads you to big leaders.
-Because you sustained consistent leadership at the bottom...every one else within the structure has a chance to rise to their personal greatness because you didn't kill them by robbing them of belief by taking away momentum.
-Start to break strings of Power Players down in depth and in side legs.
-Numbers explode to 50 or more new system counts a week.
-One hour leveraged at the bottom, multiplied times however many in line between you and them becomes exponentially powerful.

I love this quote from Wooden which totally applies to driving depth, "You have little say over how big or how strong or how smart or rich someone else may be. You do have, at least you should have, control of yourself and the effort you give toward bringing out your best in whatever you're doing. This effort must be total, and when it is, I believe you have achieved personal success."

In the words of Chris Brady, "Don't compare yourself to the big leaders and think they must be better than you, because they probably just sustained when you didn't."

**Important Points to Remember:
-Falling off the wagon at any phase leads back to getting a grip (phase 1).
-The perception is that managing is easier. This is NOT true. It's easier to just LEAD YOURSELF.
-Learn the basics...YOU rotate the pattern at the bottom; love on people while you do it; be on fire about a dream and stay consistent at it.
-As soon as you let go, side legs will begin to shrink, attitude wains and ultimately the tap root begins to die back.
-Lead yourself because the speed of the group is always the speed of the leader. No one jumps from a moving train.

Continued in part 2...

A Constructive Worldview on Values, Success & Competition

2008-10-09T12:59:00.007-07:00

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein

I'm currently reading "Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court." A while back I was listening to an audio CD of a best-selling author, Orrin Woodward, in which he was teaching from personal experience the limiting beliefs that he had to overcome on his success/leadership journey. One of the limiting beliefs he mentioned was the way he viewed Competition, Winning and Losing. Growing up, he was programmed to believe that if someone else was winning, he was losing. This came from an unfair comparison wherein he compared the best of others with the worst of himself. As I listened and analyzed my own life, I realized that this was one of the reasons I would shrink from competition. I hate losing. I thought losing made you a loser and who wants that label. This is a very destructive belief because it keeps you from trying your hardest; and as John Wooden puts it, "Try your hardest in all ways and you are a success. Period. Do less than that and you have failed to one degree or another."

LUNG BUSTERS PART 1

LUNG BUSTERS PART 2

Joshua Wooden's Definition of Success:
"My dad, Joshua, had great influence on my own personal definition of success, and it had little to do with fortune and fame. Although I probably didn't really understand it at the time, one of the things he tried to get across to me was that I should never try to be better than someone else. Then he always added, `But Johnny, never cease trying to be the best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn't.`"

"You have little say over how big or how strong or how smart or rich someone else may be. You do have, at least you should have, control of yourself and the effort you give toward bringing out your best in whatever you're doing. This effort must be total, and when it is, I believe you have achieved personal success."

I took this to mean: run your own race, don't worry about the other guy, prepare day and night expecting to win, but if you lose, know that you left it all on the court, learn from it and don't make the same mistake twice.

I'm adding other lessons I've learned so far in the book as well, but take my word for it, it's all in there.

Wooden says, "Preparation is the prize. He quotes Cervantes saying, `The journey is better that the inn.`He is right and that is why I derived my greatest satisfaction out of the preparation - the journey - day after day, week after week, year after year."

Life is tough, and there will always be those who are winning and those who are losing. But if we understand that our focus should be 100% effort in everything we do, and that the blue ribbon, the gold medal or whatever the prize may be are just the by-products of that preparation and focus, then our victories and defeats will come with a piece of mind that brings joy and fulfillment, and as a result one step further towards Mastering the Context.

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

The Balanced Center

2008-09-05T13:43:00.010-07:00

With all of the commotion from the Democratic and the Republican rallies, I've noticed a couple of things. One, this is the most emotional debate by far, which can make for a confusing situation. With all of the special interest groups involved, emotions are at an all time high, and this can tend to make things very cloudy and difficult to judge. Two, I've seen a lot of debating going on between people I come in contact with on a regular basis. Of course, everyone thinks they're right and the other is wrong. In the midst of all of this, we ask ourselves, "with all the special reports, debates, conventions and between all the hype and the applause, how can we know and discern the right path to take when it comes time to cast our vote?"

I read an excellent book by W. Cleon Skousen called "The 5000 Year Leap, The 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World."The book discusses the 28 principles that our Founding Fathers used in founding our country that propelled our society forward enabling our country to accomplish in 200 years what had not been accomplished in the last 5,000. The greatest accomplishment though, in creating our government, was establishing checks and balances through the 3 separate but unified branches of government. Herein lies the secret to sifting through the pleasantries of talk that can be "sweet to the ears," and knowing if a candidate's ideology will be good for our country and our futures, or not.

The three heads of the eagle represent the three branches of our government. From left to right, Executive, Legislative (House and Senate), and the Judicial. The left wing is the problem solving wing of our government. The right wing is the conservation wing of our government.

The problem solving contingency within our government are the big thinkers who produce elaborate schemes to solve problems. The conservative contingency poses two questions in relation to the first groups proposed solutions:

1. Can we afford it?
2. What will it do to the rights and individual freedom of the people?

If the problem solving wing runs away with solutions and the conservation wing does not stop them then liberty is gradually given over to a tyrant. If the conservation wing completely sterilizes the government then the government is in danger of losing authority and anarchy results. A constant and unrelenting guard on government is necessary to preserve our liberty.

No where here does it say Republican or democrat, black or white, male or female. Our decision should not be one of emotion based on a particular party, race or gender; but should be considered based on political power and Who Has It. What it says is there's a Balanced Center called People's Law. And our system was based on that position right of People's Law right between tyranny and anarchy, careful not to move towards one or the other. This is empowering for each of us as individuals for we are all part of this decision making process. We can Master the Context, and see through the hype and emotion as we go cast our ballots for the individual that seeks to serve the interest of preserving this proven system of government. We don't need handouts, we need the freedom to enterprise and own property which is what our great "experimental" system was built on.

Governmental candidates then should be chosen based on their history of preserving the balanced center giving each individual the power to worship their God, own property, and protect themselves as pertaining to the laws of the state. In the case of government, "Less is More." And when it comes time to make a decision, vote for the individual who will preserve our liberties by Keeping an Unrelenting Guard on Government. You have the power.

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

The Birth of DESIRE

2008-08-29T15:47:00.004-07:00

My brother Rob had the idea the other day to read "Think and Grow Rich" together. I also know he suggested it to other leaders we work with. He said, "I'm going back to what I know works for me. Reading T.A.G.R. over and over and having a Depth focus (strategic structure for most leverage in community building) which builds total belief and gets results. Let's do it together!" I thank him for his humility, his hunger and his friendship. I'm grateful to have such rich associations with Rob and Kenyon and others like them on our leadership team.

Going through my tattered, note ridden copy, I've picked up some more nuggets on The Inner Voice. I truly believe this to be the key in Mastering today's chaotic Context, seeing through the confusion and uncovering one's destiny.

"The whole course of things goes to teach us faith. We need only obey. There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right word." Emerson

Napoleon Hill , in the timeless classic "Think and Grow Rich", explains that the starting point for all achievement is DESIRE, but I would add that a righteous desire can only be birthed from our inner guidance system, otherwise known as the blessed impulse or the inner voice. As Emerson states, we listen for the right word, or flash, or hunch as it's communicated through pictures in our mind's eye and this leads to an increase in desire to make this idea into reality.

It was a father's desire that his son, born with no ears, would one day hear and speak as any one else. Mr. Hill left himself no other option but to commit to that desire, which then transferred through his thoughts and actions to his son. This then took over in the form of conviction in the son that he would not only overcome this challenge but that the challenge itself was actually an advantage. He taught his son that every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage. Then, through persistence and learning, the son came upon a hearing device that introduced him to a whole new world of sounds. With this device, the son not only learned how to hear and speak, but he figured out a way to market this new product to the hearing impaired all over the world. This course of action would change the lives of many, many people by introducing them to a new world of sound that was thought of as all but closed off to them before.

Read the following example of how Napoleon Hill's son, like his father, also learned to listen to the inner voice. [I love the irony of the boy that can't hear who acquires the skill of listening].

With the sudden discovery of this new electrical hearing device, Napoleon Hill's son wrote an enthusiastic letter to the manufacturer describing his experience. The company then invited him to come see their factory in New York. "When he arrived, he was escorted through the factory, and while talking with the chief engineer, telling him about his changed world, a hunch, an idea, or an inspiration - call it what you wish - flashed into his mind. It was this impulse of thought which converted his affliction into an asset, destined to pay dividends in both money and happiness to thousands for all time to come."

In my life I have seen this to be true:
-The inner voice, through whatever means of inner communication that fits the individual, births the desire.
-The desire drives a commitment.
-Commitment leads to conviction.
-Conviction causes persistence.
-Persistence leads to learning.
-Learning enables results.
-And through results we gain understanding.

Now to bring it back to the beginning of the loop, as our understanding grows, and our vision broadens, the inner voice can then communicate ideas that will expand our capacity for understanding even further. This is a virtuous cycle of improvement that if followed, will lead to your destiny.

Keep moving Forward.

Rusty Robson

Leadership, Vision & The Inner Voice, Pt. 3

2008-08-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

HOW:
Listening to the Inner Voice Allows One To Become A Whole Brained Person.

Ironically, the sub-title above is a perfect description of what I wasn’t during many phases of my life; one in particular involved the process of how I decided to marry my wife. I thank God I finally listened.

I’ve been the most successful, when I’ve listened to the inner voice. I had broken things off with Helen shortly after I had arrived home from a two year religious sabbatical in Santiago, Chile. After coming home from such an empowering, life changing experience, I suddenly didn’t know where I fit in. I had changed but a lot at home hadn’t and I had a hard time making the adjustment. Shortly thereafter, I moved to Huntington Beach, CA to find my self. Looking back, I had digressed to a state of shock learning where I had no real plan but was throwing myself into situations to sort of test myself to see how I’d do. Next I decided to move to Utah to stay with family and maybe date a little. There I drifted further back into maintenance learning where I was operating with a fixed outlook of how to deal with issues that seemed to be reoccurring in my life. All this time, I was trying to engage and move forward in life but I had stopped listening to the inner voice. When you don’t listen, the voice eventually goes quiet and the vision goes dark. Finally I decided to come back to Arizona and start to establish myself again. In moving back, I started a plan of self-development again where I began a process of Innovative learning. I developed a hunger for knowledge and understanding in order to expand my capacity. I began to read business trend, leadership, and self-development books like crazy and started to focus on a networking project I had started before I left for Chile. I could finally feel my true self start to emerge and so I dug in and studied harder to learn the concepts. Soon I was back in Utah at my sister and Brother in laws on a business trip. I had been up late doing some training when I started to get down on myself because I still wasn’t achieving the results I that I wanted and so, I picked up a book. Right then, my phone rang; it was Helen driving home from a trip. She was getting sleepy and had the sudden impulse to call me. We started to talk and she could tell right away that I was feeling really down. For the next few minutes she proceeded to encourage, edify and uplift me, knowing just what to say. It felt so good to have someone I felt who really knew me and knew my potential and who I could be. After the call but on that same trip, I called Helen to use some visuals for a presentation I was doing. I went to pick it up and while in her bedroom I saw some goals written up on a white board. My eyes immediately went to one goal that read, “Be Rusty’s best friend.” I didn’t quite know how to take that because we hadn’t even been talking except for the call from a couple nights before. She saw the look in my eyes and looked at the board, not realizing she’d left it up there. I could tell she was nervous, not knowing if it would scare me off or not. I didn’t say anything then but when the trip was over and I was at Rob and Kenyon, my brother and sister-in-law’s house. I told Kenyon what had happened. I told her I liked how Helen made me feel on the phone the other night, but that I didn’t know if I liked that she was still perusing a relationship because we were supposed to be dating other people. Ironically, though, every girl I had dated during that phase was, in my mind anyways, compared to Helen. I would say things like, “so and so is nice and all, but why can’t she be more like Helen?” When I told Kenyon that Helen had written “Be Rusty’s best friend,” on the white board, she cut through the confusion saying, “Helen is so awesome, I knew she was the right one for you.” That wasn’t what I had expected to hear, but it gave me an outside perspective, at the perfect time, from someone whom I trusted and knew was very in tuned to the inner voice as well. This is an important point because part of the initial process is identifying the voice and getting your hunches voiced to others who share this desire to learn. I next took these experiences to my mom. She listened very lovingly as I drew myself out and as I talked and she listened I broke down crying with a realization that Helen was the one. She was always the one and the voice inside knew it. This was just the first time that I was really listening. I was finally becoming a whole brained person, pun intended, and I knew the course of action I had to take. The next day I called Helen to ask if she was willing to give the relationship another chance. She of course knew all along that we were going to end up together but was gracious and patient enough to allow me to come to that conclusion on my own. Soon after we started dating again I asked her to marry me and she happily said yes.

[Successful people] rely as much on their intuitive and conceptual skills as on their logical and analytical talents. These are whole-brained people, capable of using both sides of their brain.” Warren Bennis

The “How” then, of listening and being led by the inner voice, is to learn to use your whole brain.

Learning to tap into the full potential of this God given machine has yet to be accomplished, but the closer you can get, the more in-tuned you will be to your true self which has the effect of liberating all faculties. As quoted before, it is in these moments that we feel “most deeply and intensively active and alive.” Tapping into all of our God-given faculties is the way to true, self-realization. Our brain then can receive messages in different ways and we must LEARN to IDENTIFY these messages, act quickly on them and in doing so we’ll get better and quicker at moving through, and learning from the choices in our lives.

Bennis also says, "A part of whole-brain thinking includes learning to trust what Emerson called the 'blessed impulse,' the hunch, the vision that shows you in a flash the absolutely right thing to do. Everyone has these visions; leaders learn to trust them." “Listening to the impulse voices means letting the self emerge. Letting the self emerge is the essential task for leaders. It is how one takes the step from being to doing in the spirit of expressing rather than proving.” Bennis

There is a system for effectively living by this spirit of truth. But first we must start with the correct world view. We can live within the context of DESIRE, the essence of which is done with the goal of achieving full self-expression, or in the context of DRIVE, done usually trying to out do others. Drive is motivated by a comparison to other people and only focuses on trying to prove ourselves. This is really just an attempt to prove to ourselves that we have worth, which, by definition, is denying the fact that we already have inherent worth and a God-given destiny to fulfill. A good example of this is when I moved to California, I did it with the intent to prove to myself and others that I could venture out on my own and “make it” all by myself. Like my 2 year old niece Saylor says, “I do it.” It took me some time to be able to let go of the reins and allow myself to be led by my inner guiding system. All that I really had to do was to listen to the inner voice, so that it could reveal to me my true destiny. This is where desire finally entered the scene. I finally desired to come home, which in essence, was me coming to terms with my true self. I knew that coming back to Arizona was the right thing to do for me at that point in my life because I would be near the things I valued most but had been running away from; my family. “The Leadership process encourages us to discover our inner voice, listen to what it is saying, and create a new voice based on values rather than circumstances, on principles rather than immediate judgments.”

Having a strong desire can also be described as having enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from the root of “en-theos” which means in God, or God with-in. This excitement, this desire comes from really knowing who we are in His eyes. It also comes from truly expressing who we are by succumbing to our God-ordained destiny.

Leaders must reflect as a habit in all that they do. They must also strive to develop, learn and grow in order to understand themselves, the world and others. This habit of reflection married to action enables the leader to keep his eyes wide open for new opportunities that can appear to get them where they desire to go. Developing these characteristics enables one to achieve full self-expression. In fact, the steps to achieve full self-expression are actually the steps to leadership:

1. Reflection leading to resolution – by reflecting on what I truly wanted based on my values; I resolved to move back to Arizona.
2. Resolution leading to perspective – after moving back, I was able to gain perspective as the darkness started to lift.
3. Perspective leading to point of view – I defined my point-of-view from the books I began to read.
4. Point of view leading to tests and measures – I tested the new information and new confidence I was developing through searching out Helen clones in the relationships I began to develop.
5. Tests and measures leading to desire – I decided to stop fooling myself and admit there was only one Helen, and I desired to have her back in my life.
6. Desire leading to mastery – the root of mastery is discipline. I began to live a more disciplined life as I prepared to marry the women of my dreams.
7. Mastery leading to strategic thinking – a more disciplined life led to a joint strategy for the future.
8. Strategic thinking leading to full self-expression – when Helen and I strategize for the future, I truly feel as if we are moving forward together, leading our family as we become our best future selves.
9. Finally, the combined synthesis of these steps leading to full self-expression = leadership.

BUT, we must first learn to LISTEN:

1. Identify: “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within…” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
-write it down (visualize)
-look for connections (synthesis)
-discuss it with others (who will be encouraging to you and who also live by the spirit of truth)
-test against your purpose and values (is it in line with them)
-are your intentions pure? (Desire vs. Drive)
-take steps in that direction (you may have all doors closed and yet turn around to an open window).

2. Engage: The inner voice allows us to act and not be acted upon, as what happened with me in my opening story.
-Maintenance learning – The acquisition of fixed outlooks, methods and rules for dealing with known and recurring situations...A good example of this in my opening story, was when I moved to Utah. Here I tried to create progress in my life by using the same dark perspective I had developed in California. I was doing a lot of the same things while expecting different results. This can also be someone that’s been at the same job/career for 25 years and tries to hold it over others. This type of existence is blind to the fact that it’s not 25 years experience; it’s 1 year of experience 25 times.
-Shock learning – I encountered this type of learning in California. I was serving tables in New Port Beach, living in a relatively loose environment and trying to live the principles I had learned during my missionary service in South America. I threw myself to the wolves, you could say.

Maintenance learning and Shock learning forget altogether that there is a self, or an inner voice, that must be listened to for proper guidance.

-Innovative learning – Must replace maintenance/shock learning. Leaders differ from others in their constant appetite for knowledge and experience and as their worlds widen and become more complex, so too do their means of understanding. This happened as I began to develop confidence through reading. I literally began transforming myself through my reading.
A. Anticipation: Being active and imaginative rather than passive and habitual.
B. Learning by listening to others.
C. Participation: The proactive approach to learning and training others. “Obviously, then innovative learning requires that you trust yourself, that you be self-directed rather than other-directed in both your life and your work. If you learn to anticipate the future and shape events rather than being shaped by them you will benefit in significant ways. In making the shift from unconscious adaptation to conscience participation, we make or recognize new connections, generating useful synthesis, and our understanding deepens.” Part of a leader’s job here in being proactive is making judgment calls in domains such as People, Strategy & Crisis as defined by Bennis and Noel Tichy in their book “Judgment.” In order to achieve great success, a leader must teach others this process of learning through making judgments within these same domains. “Great leaders not only make more important good judgment calls; they also take on the responsibility to develop the next generation of leaders with the capacity to make good judgment calls. They win today while very consciously building the team for tomorrow.”

3. Reflect: Action with no reflection can not create knowledge,” Warren Bennis. Reflection enables one to self-correct and compound learning by combining the lessons from past victories and past failures. By reflecting as you go from peak to peak, each being connected by a valley, you gain perspective. “Reflection gets to the heart of the matter, the truth of things. After appropriate reflection, the meaning of the past is known, and the resolution of the experience – the course of action you must take as a result – becomes clear…this type of thinking presumes that reality is dynamic rather than static, and therefore seeks relationships between ideas, to aim at synthesis. Bennis explains synthesis as the connection between the two horns of reflection and perspective.

I’ve encountered a powerful synthesis of ideas and experiences as I’ve begun to share these experiences and tied them to books that I’m currently reading. This reflection has enabled me to compound my learning through forcing myself to remember the events, identify the lessons and search for the practical application. The principles have become crystallized in my conscience and sub-conscience mind for future use, as I hope they have for the reader.

I’ve been the most successful, when I’ve listened to the inner voice. The inner voice reveals the vision; the vision creates the desire; the desire creates the discipline; and the discipline swings open the door, revealing our true selves. Our whole self that only stays dormant until we can learn to let go.

Letting Go has been the primary message in my life. While difficult to learn, it is the only way to truly be led to a better, more fulfilling future. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matt. 16:25

I challenge You, the reader, to put into practice the Identify, Engage, & Reflect process as you stretch and strive along your leadership journey. I promise you a new, more enlightened point-of-view and a new way of seeing things. This new way of seeing things can then lead to improved actions and a future worthy of your divine potential.

“I have only to let myself go! So I have said to myself all my life – so I said to myself in the far-off days of my fermenting and passionate youth. Yet I have never fully done it. The sense of it – of the need of it – rolls over me at times with commanding force: it seems the formula of my salvation, of what remains to me of a future. I am in full possession of accumulated resources – I have only to use them, to insist, to persist, to do something more – to do much more than I have done. The way to do it – to affirm one’s self [sur la fin] – is to strike as many notes, deep, full and rapid, as one can. All life is – at my age, with all one’s artistic soul the record of it – in one’s pocket, as it were. Go on, my boy, and strike hard…Try everything, do everything, render everything – be an artist, be distinguished to the last.” Henry James

Keep Moving Forward

Rusty Robson

Leadership, Vision & The Inner Voice, Pt. 2

2008-07-27T22:20:00.003-07:00

WHY:

There is a dichotomy that exists between a growing complexity of our own making and a lagging development of our own capacities. Aurelio Peccei calls this "the human gap." He states in his book, "No Limits to Learning: Bridging the Human Gap," that "the human gap is defined as the distance between growing complexity and our capacity to cope with it." I find it interesting that the very same situations that we produce because of our thinking are the complexities that we don't seem to have answers for. I believe this to be the main reason behind the importance of developing our ability to recognize, listen to and follow the inner voice.

I'll share an example from my own life to illustrate this point. Several years ago, I was trying to make some decisions that would surely have changed the course of my life. I was recovering from a life path I had chosen that had taken its toll on me, and was trying to make a course correct that included 2 good choices. I believe it was the first time in many years that the choices I was about to make were both good, including either getting married to a young girl, who, at the time I had grown to love both her and her young daughter, and serving a 2 year religious sabbatical for my church. For the first time, in a very long while, the choice was not obviously a right or wrong decision. But there was no doubt that this was to be a life-changing decision leading to 1 of 2 very different paths. I remember being at a total loss because I didn't know, or better yet I didn't remember how to get answers to questions that didn't just come from my own finite brain. I wasn't familiar with the inner voice. I was in my parent’s room sobbing like a lost child. My dad walked in and unexpectedly started to laugh. I sobbingly asked why he was laughing at me and my misfortune. He answered with something that introduced me to and reacquainted me with an unfamiliar feeling of peace. He said, "I'm so happy son, because it’s in times like these that the Lord can guide you best." He kneeled down with me and we prayed together for guidance. It was then that I learned WHY I needed to re-acquaint myself with the blessed impulse; this inner voice that would come to be the single-most important gift of my life.

From the inner voice come the words that develop the pictures in our mind's eye that create the vision. From this vision we can create goals, and from these goals we can begin the process of Kaizen, or continuous improvement. Kaizen is what bridges the human gap because it can lead to dynamic learning. There are several types of learning which I will cover in the "HOW" of the inner voice.

I'll end with another quote from Aurelio Peccei. As Peccei states in his forward, "All we need at this point in human evolution is to learn what it takes to learn what we should learn - and learn it."

Keep Moving Forward

Rusty Robson

Leadership, Vision & The Inner Voice, Pt. 1

2008-07-24T13:46:00.015-07:00

"Every person has two educations, one which he receives from others, and one, more important, which he gives to himself."
Gibbon

In connection with the previous post, "The Social Disease of Our Time," I diagnosed a major problem existing in our culture today, and some examples of its devastating effects. This problem has been identified as short-term thinking. Here I will identify the process for Mastering the Context, beginning with one of the most important, fundamentally life-changing tools we have in fighting this social plague and in getting ourselves, our families and our communities back on the road to recovery. This is the What, Why and How of The Inner Voice.

WHAT:

Within all of us there is a voice which acts as an internal commentary on everything we see, hear, feel or do. Imagine you're the pilot of your own aircraft trying to land your plane at LAX. Having lived in Southern California, I know not to go near this airport in Los Angeles if I'm trying to get somewhere in a hurry. This airport and the sky above this airport are some of the busiest in the world. Imagine trying to navigate your aircraft through these busy skies with massive jet liners coming and going round the clock, with out the help and guidance of the air traffic control tower and the specialists inside. Even worse, think of trying to land your aircraft amongst such chaos without this essential element. Trying to bypass this process of establishing your position, listening for guidance, and acting on this guidance, would be short-term thinking and therefore lead to disaster and destruction.

The Leadership process encourages us to discover our inner voice, listen to what it is saying, and create a new voice based on values rather than circumstances; on principles rather than immediate judgments.

The book of Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help." Where does a leader’s vision come from? According to John Maxwell, to find your vision, you must listen to:

The Inner Voice: Vision starts within. Do you know what your life’s mission is? If what you’re pursuing in life doesn’t come from the depths of who you are and what you believe, you will not be able to accomplish it.

The Unhappy Voice: Where does inspiration for great ideas come from? From noticing what doesn’t work. Discontent with the status quo is a great catalyst for vision. No great leader in history has fought to prevent change.

The Successful Voice: Nobody can accomplish great things alone. If you want to lead others to greatness, find a good mentor, an advisor who can help you sharpen your vision.

The Higher Voice: Don’t let your vision be confined by your own limited capabilities. A truly valuable vision must have God in it. Only He knows what you’re really capable of. Have you looked beyond yourself, even beyond your own lifetime as you’ve sought your vision? If not, you may be missing the true potential of your life."

Bennis says, "A part of whole-brain thinking includes learning to trust what Emerson called the 'blessed impulse,' the hunch, the vision that shows you in a flash the absolutely right thing to do. Everyone has these visions; leaders learn to trust them."

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, revolutionized manufacturing, management, and quality control through creating systems focused on "Kaizen," which is Japanese for continuous improvement. Dr. Deming did this by creating the "Deming Cycle," which consists of Plan, Do, Check, Act. Best selling author Orrin Woodward uses a similar cycle called Plan, Do, Check, Adjust. The pre-cursor to this whole process is developing discernment of the inner voice through reading, listening, acting and meditating on the flashes of God-given inspiration in order to develop a compelling enough vision for yourself and others to boldly peruse.

As we can see, this inner voice is what guides us to our vision. It also helps us to be decisive and make adjustments based on what's right in achieving our purpose. It shows us our purpose through flashes of inspiration and impulses and most importantly it comes from an all knowing, all powerful, all loving and of coarse ever present, God.

To close this first post of the "What" of the inner voice, I'd like to transition to the next post of the "Why" by quoting William James. "I have often thought that the best way to define a man's character would be to seek out the particular mental or moral attitude in which, when it came upon him, he felt himself most deeply and intensively active and alive. At such moments, there is a voice inside which speaks and says, 'This is the real me.'"

Keep moving forward,

Rusty Robson

Revolt Of The Masses

2008-07-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

"I am no longer a captive to history. Whatever I can imagine, I can accomplish. I am no longer a vassal in a faceless bureaucracy. I am an activist, not a drone. I am no longer a foot soldier in the march of progress. I am a revolutionary." Gary Hamel

The Divine Center

2008-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

"There is no human being of any race who, if he finds a guide, cannot attain to virtue." Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Social Disease of Our Time

2008-07-12T00:54:00.000-07:00

In the awesome book, "On Becoming a Leader," by Warren Bennis, the author addressed short-term thinking as the predominant social disease of this generation. To quote him, he says, "We are at least half-way through the looking glass, on our way to utter chaos. And though the context is highly volatile it's not apt to change in any fundamental way as long as the principle players are driven by it, are swimming through it like fish blind to the water. To put it another way, the current climate is self-perpetuating because it has created an entire generation of managers in its own image."

As we look at the news, television & media we can see ourselves surrounded, and if we're really honest, stained by the current context of short-term thinking. We see this in business with long standing, once reputable companies turning to the short-term in focusing on the "bottom line" instead of having a focus of adding real value and serving it's customers. We see this type of destructive thinking everywhere nowadays; in fact, the most vile and destructive type is found within the family. This short term mindset within the family is systematically undermining and eroding the foundation of liberty and truth.

We will not change this cultural disease of short-term thinking until we first recognize it. We can all see it in the world around us, but to truly recognize it within our own thought processes & change within ourselves is the real challenge. Our tendency is to go throughout life mired in busyness. So deep, in fact, that it keeps us blind to the Godlessness of it all which in turn dams the flow of clarity from our true source of power.

As Warren Bennis says, "To know thyself, then, means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be. You make your life your own by understanding it."

The process is self-awareness = self-knowledge = self-possession = self-control = self-expression.

I just got the very disturbing news that someone that worked for my father for the last 23 years just took his own life, leaving behind a beautiful family. In-side he was a hard working family man who just allowed himself to be deceived into thinking that it was enough to be busy. This lead to forgetting who he was, which allowed him to become numb to his family and eventually turned to abusing those he should've been fighting for instead of fighting against. This is a perfect example of getting so lost in the context, the busyness of life, that you self deceive and neglect the long term relationships thinking you're moving forward when all you're doing is spinning your wheels and sinking deeper in the mire. What inevitably happens is you eventually see the progress of others which brings you to a crossroads. As my good friend and coach Orrin Woodward says, "Bitter or better." By definition, the context of short-term thinking must self-destruct, being incapable of sustaining it self long-term, destroying the lives of all those who either directly, or in-directly surrendered to it.

I pray that this family can break this vicious cycle and use this tragedy to focus on that which will truly engender long-term happiness. Short-term thinking is caused by selfishness and self deception and can only lead to self destruction. On the other hand, long term thinking, which can be developed by adhering to a cognitive development process, can only lead to long-term, sustainable results which can, in turn, lead to long term happiness.

There are 4 steps, according to Norman Lear, involved in the process of mastering the context: 1. becoming self-expressive; 2. listening to the inner voice; 3. learning from the right mentors; 4. giving oneself over to a guiding vision.

[Listening to the inner voice - trusting the inner voice - is one of the most important lessons of leadership which I will go through in more detail in a future post].

We are living in the context of short-term thinking, a self-destructive climate that is being perpetuated by managers created in its own image. To bring it back to what Warren Bennis said, "The first step, then, in becoming a leader, is to recognize the context for what it is - a breaker, not a maker; a trap, not a launching pad; an end, not a beginning - and declare your independence."

Keep moving forward,

Rusty Robson