serve – SageTalk

Dare to Care

The one thing standing between us and greatness is the tendency to Compare — ourselves with others. Magic happens when we stop the comparisons and Dare to Care.

To dare means to have courage, to be a Trailblazer, and to go where angels fear to tread. To care encompasses a desire to serve. The focus is on others; it is NOT on ourselves. In other words, our worldview is outward not inward.

Last week on Friday, two Master Craftsmen were discussing a “fair price” for their Customers. Earlier in the week on Wednesday, the three of us had met and prepared a Better Business Plan for the remainder of their year.

At the moment we finished preparing their Better Business Plan, they were quite confident in what a “fair price” was —for themselves and their Customers. Yet, two days later they were talking about a “flat rate” book.

Protect Your Heart

“Above all else, protect your heart,” encourages an old Proverb.

How important is that singular phrase? Simply: a matter of life and death.

Do we ever pause to THINK? “No one cares as much about my life as I do.”

Generally, the answer is, “No.” Because, we are beset with the societal propaganda encouraging a Rich and Famous lifestyle. In other words, the focus is on obtaining individual worth from the lives of others.

There’s a name for that: Narcissism.

Vision to Succeed

An old Proverb states the premise nicely, “Without vision, the people perish.” Or to frame the same principle in the vernacular, “Stand for something, or fall for anything.” We need vision to succeed in Life.

You’ve heard the expression, “Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” An experience last week reminded me of the incongruity of dysfunctional thought patterns, in the face of reality and facts of imminent demise.

While prattling on with the rah-rah nonsense of a used car salesman, the Owner of a roofing company (known to me from prior experience as EGO) wanted me to believe he was ready to manage in a new and better way.

His new CEO is quite fluent in Corporate Speak, which we all know wedges itself into the category of: Talk is Cheap. Between the two of them, the cacophony of their silliness lasted all of 30 minutes.

Why and How

The secret to getting things done is to ask, “Who is going to do What by When?”

An even greater mystery to doing the right things is to know, “Why and How!”

There’s a story about a Montana rancher that goes something like this —

We The People

If you wonder why you feel tired, it’s because you are. Day after day we fight enemies near and far. The greatest threat to our peace and freedom is our own government.

I’ve heard the expression, “We get the government we deserve.”

That is simply wrong. After paying 40% on our earnings, each year, in Federal and Montana income taxes, for the ‘greater good’ of Society, I don’t deserve to be used and abused — and, neither do you. We are guilty in one aspect, only, “We get what we allow.”

Conduits of Goodness

If you’re ever in need of a conversation starter, just look right into the eyes of another person and ask this question, “What is the passion at the core of everything you do?”

One of two things is guaranteed to happen: Immediate animation, as the person begins to share that passion with you. Or, a deer-in-the-headlights look, with a really long, awkward, pause, as the individual painfully looks for a way to escape.

Escape from what — their own life?! All we want is to understand what makes them tick — that which empowers them to take a licking and keep on ticking.

Inspirators

We are well past the Point of No Return and headed into uncharted territory. Literally, all of the graphs and maps of the past are of little value as we navigate into this new frontier of uncertainty and opportunity.

Beyond the time for leaders — this is a time for Inspirators.

Inspirators provide a breath of fresh air while inspiring the next bold Step, forward, to Success.

Each Day We Have A Choice

1.) Give in and give up to Resignation and Despair — or,
2.) Set a course of discovery with Fascination and Curiosity.