“Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up”. G. K. Chesterton

Why are we changing? What is being changed? What is going to be accomplished by the change? Will the change produce better conditions or worse? These are questions that need to be asked, but once asked, answers must quickly follow. We ask so that we might proceed and not tarry. Being a “cutting edge” person or corporation hasn’t been nearly as difficult in the past as it is today, nor as it will be come 2010.

Our world has become so complicated, change cannot occur without many people being involved in the process. In fact it has always been so to a degree as Alexander Graham Bell said, “Great discoveries invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may have been given the credit for blazing a trail, but when I look back, I feel the credit is due to others rather than myself.”

So much of “cutting edge” thinking comes about in “quiet times” which we seldom experience in today’s fast paced world. This does not imply that quiet is a necessity for innovation, but rather one of the more prominent factors involved. But, we need to be attentive to that still small voice within us. What is our subconscious mind saying to us, trying to tell us?

“Intuition is reason in a hurry.” Holbrook Johnson

Some of the greatest inventors of our time have contributed their genius to listening to their intuitive nature. Jonas Salk said, “Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.” What they are saying is that often times, we have to over ride the logic of our minds. To be creative and on the cutting edge requires a degree of insanity. Now, maybe you are getting it! What’s not making sense will, once you put the one-two-three steps of implementation to what seems impossible currently.

“Follow your HUNCHES like the ancient navigators followed the stars. The voyage may be lonely, but the stars will take you where you want to go.” David Mahoney

Most employers are desperately looking for the person who can follow the rules while bending their imaginations. What employer is not looking for a breakthrough that will save money, add production, bring in new customers and make working conditions better? It is sometimes as simple as asking “why not” kind of questions. George Bernard Shawis credited with one of my favorite quotes, “Some see things as they are and say WHY. Others see things that never have been and say WHY NOT.” Bobby Kennedy brought popularity to that phrase at his brother’s funeral. Both brothers were cutting edge people.

“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands examined.” Mark Twain

Our world is about to turn a millennial corner and what’s around us should challenge us, not scare us. The wheels are spinning faster and faster. The word exponential must soon give way to some other faster concept. Atoms and particles had to give way to nano-particles. Gigabytes are having to give way to terabytes. Don’t dig in your heels and resist. So, what is cutting edge? It’s akin to putting your back side in a sling shot and applying as much pressure as you can before you leave your feet and are thrusted forward, engaging your brain but not becoming a slave to it either. Say what?

When was the last time you opened the door for a fellow employee? When’s the last time you pulled out a chair at a restaurant for a woman, your wife! When’s the last time you offered something to someone else before you took it? The answer probably coincides with your last raise. PROMOTIONS come when there is a demonstration of grace and servanthood to others. Grace is more than a gift of God, it is a show of character from one to another.

“Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” Anonymous

In today’s fast paced world we’re more into NUMERO UNO: ourselves. It’s not just about WHAT you can get but HOW FAST you can get it. This phenomenon is not anything new. It was the philosopher Schopenhauer who said, “When a man is positively rude, it is as if he had cast off all his clothes and stood before us naked. Like most people in this condition, he cuts a poor figure.” There is something about the person who has bad manners that turns people off, makes them resentful, and deprives the person of all good will or accomplishment. Why walk through life with that disadvantage when there is really no need to?

“The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones.” Solomon Ibn Gabirol

Can you remember the impact that it had on you when you last heard someone say yes sir or yes mam? It is about all you can do today to get a grunt from someone or a shrug of the shoulders. If you’d like to see how far bad we’ve gone with this principle simply visit your local court house any day. You will observe the judge having to tell the witness to “answer the question with a YES or a NO”. We think a nod of the head or some other body language, can be picked up by the court reporter or listeners.

“Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.” George Bernard Shaw

Another word for manners would be courtesy. Somehow we’ve come to a mindset in the work place that we have to be served FIRST! We’re just talking human kindness here. Courtesy really doesn’t cost us anything but a lack of it can cost us not only a promotion but our very jobs as well. People like to be around people who are friendly, caring, and considerate. Sure, we will miss this when we’re having a down day, feeling ill, emotionally strained, or out of sorts, but this should be the exception and not the rule or lifestyle.

“There is not a single outward mark of courtesy that does not have a deep moral basis.” Johann Goethe

The really hard place to exercise this principle is to those who are below you or those you come in contact with on a frequent daily basis: like your family and close friends. Familiarity breeds contempt and lack of courtesy you know. Who can’t be courteous to your superior or boss, when you need to? But, how can you have good manners and be courteous to one several rungs on the ladder below you in the corporation? It’s here that we find the true reality of meaningfulness of your action. We know that God is “no respecter of persons” so why are we? You know why!

Let us then re-evaluate our habits and daily routines. May we add to them the simplicity of good manners and courtesy and just watch our stock begin to rise, not just with the boss but with all our co-laborers!

“Life is not so short but that there is not enough time for courtesy.” George Bernard Shaw

The two words may not seem to fit as hand in glove but look at it from this angle. All those who walk the high wires have to be able to sway, weave, and maneuver with the vibrations of the wire. If he is not flexible, he will surely fall. We too will fall, lose our jobs, or not get a promotion if we’re not able to “roll with the proverbial punches.” Work changes, life changes, and if we do not change, we will become fossilized and buried, to be found somewhere down the road in time.

“The more it changes, the more it is the same.” French Proverb

Being flexible does not mean that you are a reed in the wind being blown about by every “yell of your supervisor” or command by the owner. There must be some foundational principles upon which every business is founded. You may call it or them the mission statement, core values, or non-negotiatables, but the principles are those things that must never be deviated from. Flexibility does not compromise the core business decisions. Flexibility is more about methods.

“The difficulty with principles is knowing the difference between conscience and self interest.” W. D. Howells

Having encouraged the call to flexibility, one must realize that we all have to operate within the limits of what I call the “reasonable man” theory or in other words, we have to be balanced. We must do those things that are considered unique and bold but they have to all fit within the framework of the personality of the person and the corporate culture. Thus being flexible and yet balanced requires a mindset that is not common in the work place today. There is an embracing of the Hebrew mindset that says you hold two opposing ideas in toe with no apparent conflict in action.

So much of our intolerance or “kicking against the pricks” comes from “personal preferences” or positions that we have grabbed hold of; placing our names on them, and then committing to the death to defend them. Emotion places a major role in staying balanced. We get off balanced or blindsided (most often by ourselves) when we subconsciously place an ownership patent on the positions we defend. If we were not “emotionally vested” in many of the decisions that management makes, we could more easily tolerate them. On the other hand, we need to be emotionally involved or apathy can easily derail us. So, it all comes down to our regulating our emotions.

“It is easier to manufacture seven facts out of whole cloth than one emotion.” Mark Twain

So, the next time you find yourself getting upset with management or your supervisor, ask yourself just how critical this is to your life five years down the road. We need to take long term looks at events as much as possible. Short term lifestyles will cause burn out and unhappy employee morale. So what we see (our vision) is important to how we live.

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” Jonathan Swift

Your employer will always be pleased with the person who can work another hour. Who can change days off with another employee? Who can move appointments and who can change vacation days? Who can on the other hand not back down from a fundamental truth that the business is based on?

Are you such a person? If you are, promotions are in your future!

“Victory belongs to the most persevering”. Napoleon
Bonaparte

We live in a microwave society that demands instant success and answers. It used to be that people believed that if you put in your proper “time and rank” that you would receive a just reward. Today, time has to be in nano seconds and effort is whatever you feel is sufficient. The thought of having to wait for something or doing a little extra just isn’t in our psyche today. The modus operandi is “ how little can I do to get by”?

“Slow and steady wins the race”.

We live in a microwave society that demands instant success and answers. It used to be that people believed that if you put in your proper “time and rank” that you would receive a just reward. Today, time has to be in nano seconds and effort is whatever you feel is sufficient. The thought of having to wait for something or doing a little extra just isn’t in our psyche today. The modus operandi is “ how little can I do to get by”?

Fifty years ago, one expected to work EXTRA in order to get a raise. Today, a person expects a raise because their living expenses have gone up. Inflation has increased, my next door neighbor got a raise, it’s another year. It’s not a matter that we’ve gone beyond and above duty, but that we FEEL we need a raise. NEED is the driving force, not MERIT! The government has introduced us to “minimum requirements” and almost everyone adheres to that or seeks it out like water seeking it’s own level.

“I believe that the true sign of MATURITY is DELAYED GRATIFICATION.” Peggy Cahn

We have become so childish in our demands. We act like children who want their own way- just because they WANT it, not because they DESERVE it. Again, as in the workplace, we see this principle in life in general. The attention span of every generation gets smaller and smaller. We have gotten used to “sound bytes” and one minute messages. The One Minute Manager. The one minute work out, etc. We live on SPIN. At best we want the Readers Digest version of War and Peace rather than read the entire book itself.

“You can’t sell the cow and have the milk too.”

Somewhere and eventually all things work back to their mean. I know, people that work Wall Street don’t believe in this principle, but it’s been with us throughout life since the world began. There are times when we have to “go the extra mile” but as a result of that we find that we encounter a season when we benefit from things that we put little or no effort in. However, if we don’t go that extra mile, the mean keeps getting reduced again and again against our favor.

When you boil it all down, you still get out of life what you put into it. Yes, there will be times when the equation seems to not be working. But, that is just an indication that there will be an overbalancing in the other direction once the correction is made. There are still no shortcuts to life (IPO’s notwithstanding). If you want MORE, then you need to give MORE. And, you must do it with an attitude that does not have secretive manipulations.

“Whosoever will bid you to go the extra mile with them, do it.” Matt. 5:41

There is something in the fallen nature of man that wants to keep him there. Why would a sane person do something that would do harm to SELF. The EGO is far smarter than to do that except, except it does it. So, there must be something that is built in to our psyche that does push the “self-destruct” button. I believe that the “something” I am referring to has to do with the “instruction manual” as to how to “operate” that which we call our lives. Unless you believe we’re an accident, (in which case why you think as you do is obvious) you believe there was and is a PLAN for our existence.

“He who lives a long life must pass through much evil.” Spanish Proverb

When the PLAN OF LIFE goes against our “perceived logic”, we experience melt down. One of those basic foundations to life is the “way UP is DOWN”. It is when we SERVE OTHERS that we not only find fulfillment but capacity for promotion. It is when we PREFER OTHERS even over ourselves that we set in motion the dynamics of the “stuff of life” that eventually promotes us. This does not mean that we become a Dorothy Doormat and just let people run over us or wipe their feet on us. It does mean that we need to get outside of thinking only about SELF and think and serve OTHERS!

“Let another man praise you and not your own mouth”. Prov. 27:2

One of the most important aspects of life is the nature of the ecosystem that it is. We are ONE or at least tied together in some mysterious fashion. As we benefit others, we benefit ourselves. The problem is that we live in a micro wave society and we want INSTANT GRATAIFICATION. We want the DIRECT benefits and we don’t want to have to take some circuitous road to get there.

If you work for a company, corporation, civic society, or anything wherein more than one person is employed in accomplishing the objective, it’s always in our benefit to help. The worst case scenario is to NOT HINDER what others are doing: a passive assistance if you will. One of the reasons that the American capitalistic endeavor has been so successful is because we’ve made people “owners” or entrepreneurs and not just employees. With recent stock option or participation programs, we’ve brought them further into the mix. In America , we see the importance of being part of a team and yet our human nature initially rebels against the concept.

“By gnawing through a dyke, even a rat may sink a nation.” Edmund Burke

Aristotle understood this concept (which he got from his grandfather in the spirit-Socrates) and simply said that the problem was, “Inferiors revolt in order that they may be equal, and equals that they may be superior.” If somehow, we can lay down our egos and think about how we can help others, we will eventually begin to see greater promotion for ourselves. Don’t get carried away to the point that you’re not doing your job, but bring balance to this concept.

“A thankful heart is the parent of all virtue. “ Cicero

Preferring others does not mean that you beat yourself into sack cloth and ashes. If you’re battery is weak, how can you help jump start another battery? Both will be dead and go no where. I could also use the analogy of “giving blood”. You can give a little every now and then but to give too much all at once will kill you. So, build yourself up and build up others as well.

“Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye but not the log in yours?” Matt. 7:3

The problem is exponentially increased if that person happens to be either a spouse of someone whom we have been placed under. It is especially difficult for those who work for an employer, to take their money, enjoy the rewards of that employment (no matter how large or small), and yet criticize and otherwise demean that employer. It’s called biting the hand that feeds you.

“Intolerance is not a sign of holiness”

Too often our intolerance actually puts us in a place of being the adversary and completely assuring us of the fact that we will NOT be able to speak into a person’s life when just the opposite was our intent. It’s old but the cliché still applies that “we can catch more with honey than vinegar.” Christians have continually committed the error, down through the ages, of being purveyors of vinegar. The results have been as minute as judgements, and as large as the Crusades!

We have somehow forgotten the golden rule of “treating OTHERS as we would like to be treated.” There is no EMPLOYER or supervisor that is perfect. Can we also agree that there is no EMPLOYEE that is perfect? So, can we agree that we’re all hindered in some fashion. So, given this disclaimer, let’s move on to the principle of submission to authority. Obey them that are over you unless there is some overt and direct crime being asked of you. Don’t argue preferences unless your opinion is asked for.

“The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.” H. Humphrey

Loyalty is a principle as high as the principle of “speaking truth” as far as an employer is concerned. Maybe, more so. One of the things that most employees have a hard time dealing with is incompetence or perceived errors within the work place. What we see though is that those employees who can TOLERATE and ACCEPT people for WHO THEY ARE, are the ones most likely to be promoted. The work place is not a place to PREACH but a place to WORK. Far more is accomplished by our “work habits” than our TALK about them. People want to follow PRODUCERS. Employers want to hire and promote PRODUCERS. This does not mean that you don’t SHARE your thoughts, feelings, and philosophy of life, but that you share them when they are ASKED FOR!

“If you laid all of man’s opinions end to end, there would be no end.”

So, let us put a muzzle on our “judgmental passions” and tend to the affairs to which we are being paid. I might also add, to those affairs that we’d like to be paid MORE. And, at the same time, may we develop a compassion and an understanding for our fellow co-workers wherein we care more for them as a result of their shortcomings instead of being more angry because of it. Unless civilization has a made a major shift, you’ll enjoy life a lot more as a result of this behavior.

“You can’t say civilization isn’t advancing: in every war, they kill you in a new way.” Will Rogers

“A professor is someone who talks in someone else’s sleep” W. H. Auden

Every day we have the opportunity in some small way to pass on a part of who we are. It’s called “training your replacement”. There are so many jobs that we each hold that this concept is much bigger than you might imagine. And, the rewards are immense. We all have a measure of rule, a sphere of influence, and we’ve been called to be “good stewards” of it all. You get PROMOTED and PAID for being a good steward.

“I am opposed to millionaires but it would be dangerous to offer me the position. “ Mark Twain

In this life we INVEST a lot more than just money. There is WHO we are and WHAT we KNOW. It has taken us years to get to the places we visited. Why be selfish? Why hold back and not share? It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” What is it that you do? DO IT WELL because people are watching. Why pass along something old, used or mediocre? And there’s not a btter time to do it than NOW!

“One of these days….is none of these days.” English Proverb

So often we pass off flippant and unemotional phrases like the one above not realizing that what we could encounter is one of those rare, valuable, and important “teaching moments”. The next time someone asks a question, don’t take it as a hindrance, but as a rare moment to “share your life”. Don’t get too philosophical in all this now, but listen to reality! We’re not talking “mountain top” stuff here. I am talking about a DAILY WALK with people. A walk where they see that you are FOR THEM and not against them. We seem to want to create the sonic boom, make the big wave in the lake, or create the next patent. How about just doing the simple things that makes your co-workers job better? How about laying down some of your free time for the liberation of others? Sounds too poetic doesn’t it? Too trivial? It’s NOT!

“Time GOES you say? Oh no! Alas, time STAYS, we go.” Henry Dobson

So, while we still have “opportunity”, let us begin training “all“ of our replacements. It starts with our children: goes to our grand children. It goes to every co-worker. It touches those in the civic clubs that we belong to. It radiates to and through the church. Promotions are not just “job” oriented, though that is our primary direction in these “52 ways”. The more you TRAIN others in what you know, the better you’ll do it “at work”.

“He who is full of himself is likely quite empty.”

So, what all this comes down to is where we began at the top. This life is far from being just about SELF though the clutter of the day tries to tell us otherwise. Why do you think there are so many SELF HELP books anyway? This hedonistic society we’ve created from books like “Watch Out For Number # 1” and the likes have really been to our hurt. They have sent a message that is countervailing to promotion in the long run. Of course, in America, everything is for the short haul. May we change that!

Why not?

“The body says what words can’t.” Martha Graham

Jesus came down in a BODY! He left for heaven in a BODY (though a glorious one). It is the BODY that our soul is able to express itself through. How could you tell what a person’s soul was without the window of the body to express itself? And yet, we too often neglect the body, falling into a form of dualism that in all actuality refutes the Bible and life itself. Bottom line, we NEED the body and we need a HEALTHY BODY in order to operate at optimum efficiency.

“He who has HEALTH has HOPE and he that has HOPE has EVERYTHING.” Arabian Proverb

Everyone to some degree or another would agree that ATTITUDE is critical to our success in life. A lousy attitude is quickly rejected whereby a positive attitude attracts success. And, a key to a positive attitude is a healthy body. Franklin Pierce Adams hit the nail on the head when he said, “Health is the thing that makes you feel that NOW is the best time of the year.” It is also well known that a person who is healthy and strong has a far greater degree of CONFIDENCE than one who does not.

“The greatest mistake a person can make is to sacrifice health for any other advantage.” Arthur Schopenhauer

Stephen Covey has placed this as one of the most IMPORTANT things that one can do (Quadrant # 2) to be successful. Yet, we abuse the body. We load it up with toxins. We build up a supply of free radicals that eat away at our health. We have poor nutrition. But, worst of all, we don’t exercise!!!

“If you don’t have time to exercise you’ll have to find time for illness”.

Our life span in America keeps being extended but how long could we be living if we practiced a little more good nutrition and proper exercise? How many more quality hours could you put in with a healthy body? How much better could your body language be if you worked on your posture? How many more sales could you make because of your increased confidence?

We KNOW that sales do increase with good health and strength. If all things were equal, who do you think would get the PROMOTION if one em- ployee looked and acted with zeal while another person had a hard time just getting from one meeting to the other or was more concerned about lunch time than closing the sale time.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Is. 40:31

Yes, you can be a success with poor health, but you can’t enjoy it as much can you! Sometimes common sense can serve us best. But this is more than common sense. It is a dedication to a daily DISCIPLINE of exercising and staying away from those things that will hinder your physical well being. It’s NOT that you can’t EVER eat a chocolate filled, honey dipped, Alaskan MUD PIE, but that you don’t do it every night after 10 pm!

“After lunch, rest awhile, after supper walk a mile.” Arabian Proverb

We often get the question, “How are you DOING?” It’s an interesting question that is just superficial at best because we really don’t want to add all of the qualifiers that we need to in order to get a realistic answer. Say what? Okay, “How do I feel?” We “feel” in relation or comparison to many things. You see everything is “in relation” to something else.

“In great affairs, men show themselves as they wish to be seen. In small things, they show themselves as they are.” S. Chamfort

What are your standards? What are your milestones? Against WHAT or WHOM are you comparing yourself? If we’re to BE successful, we first have to DEFINE what that means. One persons success is not necessarily another persons. Many a person has felt they were doing great until they came upon someone who was greater.

Camparisons are killers aren’t they!

When a truly GREAT pool player was asked how great he really was, his answer was, “I’m not all that great. I would say I was a “B” pool player.” When queried further as to why he wasn’t an “A” level player, his answer was shocking. He said, “I’ve never SEEN an “A” level player. What have you SEEN in your work? Who is your MODEL? And, what makes that standard or model one you should seek after?

“Life consists of what a man is thinking all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

When was the last time you asked your EMPLOYER what he EXPECTED of you? When we begin a new job, there are goals, plans & quotas. After a while (and several years of service), we begin to take people and things for granted and we lose sight of the OBJECTIVES. What are yours? What is it that you could DO to be PROMOTED? Is the person who is giving you the standard or bar one who exemplifies excellence and success themselves?

“Never discourage one who continually makes progress no matter how slow.” Plato

Everyone should have a day planner or some tool to help monitor the 168 hours that makes or breaks a week. How much is an HOUR worth anyway? Do you have TIME to gossip? Do you have TIME for idle conversation? Just what is it that you have time for anyway? Once you make that decision, you can now begin to MONITOR what it is that you can or cannot do each day. How can you begin the next day unless you have finished yesterday? And, doesn’t TOMORROW start with today’s planning of it?

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.” Latin Proverb

You can monitor your success by your annual plans. You can monitor success by quarterly returns as many corporations do. You can monitor things monthly and weekly. All of the previous landmarks are recommended. However, to monitor DAILY is the standard of all measurements. We live in a world where daily swings in the stock market, daily swings in the government sentiment, and daily changes in the latest technology can not only affect us, but put us without a job entirely. The fast paced world is only speeding up and getting more complex and we must adjust to it and life ……Daily!

“An acre of performance is worth more than the whole Land of Promise.” James Howell

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John Wooden

The world will provide anyone with multiple EXCUSES if that is their game. We can always find reasons for our lack of success. There’s always someone that we can blame. One of the worst drawbacks to success though is to begin with too much! The list of failures is strewn with people who once “had it all.” Many a sports team has wound up dejected from a loss wherein going into the final closing minutes they had a lead but they rested on their laurels.

“Every calling is GREAT when GREATLY pursued.”. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

In America today, there is so much prosperity that top management corporations tell us (psychologists as well) that a person can stay employed on a job working only at 25% of their capacity! My question is why would one want to do that? Why do we let up when greater victories are at hand?

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Gary Player

To me though one of the greatest tragedies of life is to have it all or have much and then not do much with it. We call that person an “underachiever.” On the other hand, how about the person that has little and yet gains much. We call that person an “overachiever”. I suggest to you that no matter where you are in terms of talents or abilities that there’s an awesome “stewardship or fiduciary” obligation hat should fuel us all to excel and achieve.

Biblically, we can see this principle in action in two stories. There’s the parables of the talents and pounds which obligate us to be PRODUCTIVE and to invest our lives and resources as BEST as we can. We’re not to be cautious or hold back in fear but to work as best we can and invest. Secondly, there is the warning that “to whom MUCH is given, MUCH is required.” I somehow feel that when a person becomes Christian that they have been given MUCH and therefore MUCH IS REQUIRED!

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. “ Robert Kennedy

Who has not seen the movie RUDY and made some sort of emotional connection. Here was a kid who had a dream to play football for Notre Dame. He didn’t have the skills. He didn’t have the body. He didn’t have the strength. Ah, but he did have the HEART! And, he won over their hearts of everyone who knew him. He gave it his all.

Question. Are you giving it your ALL? Does your employer see a Rudy in you? Or, has your job become boring and routine. Have you forgotten how exciting it was once. Must you lose it to cherish it? When we become THANKFUL for what we have, we naturally become more competent at it. So, are you doing MORE or LESS than you really can or should? A PROMOTION rests on how you answer that question.

“There is no such thing as great talent without great will power.” Anon

What has made franchising so popular is that many small units with the SAME NAME make it appear that there is MORE rather than LESS. In other words, one plus one equals something MORE than TWO! Or, it is the concept that the “whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.

“One is best known by his companions.” Latin Proverb

This is a Biblical principle stated in many ways! Can there be any greater authority? A three-fold cord is not easily broken. One can set a thousand to flee but two can set 10,000 running. And, it’s a concept that is embraced by many religions, though in a different manner. Buddhism, as an example, would call it the “Middle Way” not meaning compromise but a higher way of merging an apex; like a triangle. What is as important is that you consider WHO you are allowing yourself to be associated with. Are they people who will bring you down or lift you up?

“He who lays down with the dogs will rise with fleas.” Latin Proverb

This is also one of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Principles” from his best seller. It’s principle number six and as he says, “Synergy is everywhere in nature. The essence of synergy is to value differences, to respect them, to build on strengths, to compensate for weaknesses.” In other words, synergistic communication is an openness and willingness to listen to new ideas, thoughts, and concepts. It’s to be OPEN!

Ecology is another word or concept that stands for synergism. Everything that exists is related to something else. We, and nature, are dependent upon a balance that only nature can mastermind. We are NOT ALONE in this world no matter how hard we try to be “lone rangers” or self-dependent. The movie, “For Love Of The Game” is an excellent example of our NEED for more than SELF!

“Tell me thy company and I will tell thee who thou art. “ Miguel de Cervantes

The principle of synergy is just a deeper version of the principle of delegation. There is only so much that we can all do by ourselves. It is also an expansion of the concept of networking, which is another popular word in sales and business today. So much of our life today depends upon spreading the word, spreading the work load, and then spreading the accolades: sharing the honors! There are still some that can and will go it alone, but not for long. And, isn’t it interesting that one of the most common denominators of failed
societies is the failure of the family unit!

In other words, societies that can’t keep marriage as its cornerstone, can’t hold together. The nation that refuses to take care of the next generation (due to divorce, adultery, etc.) will eventually lose its generation as well. You see, the most basic unit of synergy and networking is the FAMILY UNIT. It’s won or lost there.

Synergy is more than a business concept!

“Enthusiasm is the highest paid quality on earth”. Frank Bettger

Don’t you just LOVE to see a person who is excited about what they are doing (unless their enthusiasm threatens your world). Most would rather employ someone who has a little less talent but is excited about life and their job than to hire someone who knows a bit more but turns people off. We are still in the “customer service” business. One’s “bedside manner” still accounts for much today. Corporate “goodwill” is still a valuable asset! This in no way condones incompetence or says do less than you are capable of doing.

“The simplest man, fired with enthusiasm, is more persuasive than the most eloquent man without it.” Franklin Field

There is a confidence that we build in our co-laborers when we smile! There is a determination that we pass on when we enjoy what we’re doing. There is a saying that if you have to choose between one who has a right head and a wrong heart or one who has a right heart and a wrong head, choose the latter! We can see the consequences of choosing the former by looking to William Jefferson Clinton. He’s a great politician who could manage politics very very well, but the heart? Only God knows but we here in America know the results!

“No person who is enthusiastic about his work has anything to fear from life.” Samuel Goldwyn

“Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money, power, and influence.” Henry Chester

You can take enthusiasm too far. You can make many mistakes in your enthusiasm, but are you learning as you go? Remember, you can also make mistakes in slothfulness as well. As a kid, we learned that the faster the top would spin, the more STABLE it was. It was only when the top slowed down that it began to wobble and eventually topple over. Many more people have wobbled and toppled over in life than have crashed and burned. Or, as the Jesuit priest has said, “It’s much easier to say WHOA than it is to say GIDDYUP.”

“In things pertaining to enthusiasm, no man is sane who does not
know how to be insane on proper occasions.” Henry Ward Beecher

Who would you want to go on a vacation with: slug or a road runner? Who do you want to spend eight hours of your day with? Someone with a song in their heart, rhythm in their step, and a swagger in their gait or one who complains, moans, and is generally just dissatisfied with most everything in life?

You know the answer and it’s the same answer that your employer would give. Enough said? Your next promotion might be an “enthusiastic lifestyle away”.

“If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic. Then inner enthusiasm will follow.” William Ellis

A common phrase that is used today says, “Well, ‘it’s my life after all.” Women feel justified in killing an unborn child because after all, it is THEIR BODY! I can steal and go to jail if “I’m willing to do the TIME.” But, what about those you stole from? What about those who love you and share your life? What about not just those that you currently touch or impact, but what about those you might have been able to impact in the future? You see, it’s really not just about US! It’s not just MY LIFE!

“Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.” Ronald Reagan

My life belongs to the one who created me! My life belongs to the originator and maker who obviously made me with a PLAN in mind! And, we leave parts of our lives with others we come in contact with. It is a contact that can benefit or hurt those we touch. Life is really a lot more complicated in the area of relationships than we know.

“The true meaning to life is to plant trees, under whose shade we do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson

The verse from Proverbs 29:18 in the original language means not so much PERISH as it does to be left standing NAKED! In other words, EMBARRASSED! Having NO DEFENSE against the accusations leveled at you. We will never be successful in life is we don’t know WHY we’re here, WHERE we are headed and with some EVIDENCE of the former two mentions. As the philosopher has said, “tell me your CERTAINTIES, I have enough DOUBTS of my own.” People are looking for a ROCK, a sure foundation on which they can anchor their lives.

“Life demands from he strength you possess. Only one feat is possible-not to have run away.” Dag Hammarskjold

It is therefore not just for US that we need a vision but for others around us. A rising tide lifts all boats. If we ALL do our part we edify, encourage, and LIFT all spirits and souls! To “be a visionary” is nothing more than to be able to SEE and discern what path we should be on. If we are not aware of the road we’re traveling, we’ll surely encounter detours that can wreck havoc with our lives.

We’re built to be more than automatons waking up, going to work, eating, sleeping, and then doing it all over again the next day. Life is to have a zeal and a happiness to it because we SEE where we’re to be and go. And, we can measure our progress each season as we plod on to the eventual calling: as we PRESS on to the PRIZE of life! Call it what you want, but the person who understands their destiny (is a visionary), is a person who reaps great rewards.

You can be a visionary in that you’re on the cutting edge (a later promotion trait) of THINGS. But, there is also the person who is a SEER of things to come: one who attracts and gathers others because they need the model and the compass from which we find direction in our lives.

“You only live once- but if you work it right, once is enough.” Joe E. Lewis