“What does it mean to “pour into” the lives of your team members? Our responsibility as “beyond you” leaders is not to teach everything, but to share what we do know with those around us and those coming along behind us.” – Andy Stanley
This 6-minute video has a meaningful leadership lesson. As my colleague Margie Craver said, “Just think if everyone thought about “Live beyond You,” everyone would reap greater success!”
Here’s a poem to help you ring in the new year:
We made it through twenty-thirteen, and oh what a year it has been.
I think about happiness as a radio frequency that you can tune yourself to follow, just like a radio station. When you don’t like the sounds you hear, you can change the dial until you find something that resonates. Resonates.
When unappealing tones emanate from external sources, like other people or your surrounding environment, or when those unpleasant sounds emerge from internal sources, such as negative self-talk, you can change that tune. Change. Your tune.
“But what if I can’t change my circumstances,” you ask? Ah, but you can. Maybe not the facts. Or the people. Or the pain. But you can change the meaning you assign to those things. It is the label you place on your experience that determines its impact. Consider holocaust survivor and pioneering positive thinker, Viktor Frankl, who said,
“Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Ah hah! The worst-conceivable things can be happening around and near and to me, and yet I get to choose what those things mean to me. I get to choose how I tune myself into my world.
A favorite positive thinker I follow, who goes by the pen name, “Cast Light,” said in a brief article today,
What you look for you will find. So if you’re looking for something to complain about or someone to talk about, there will be plenty to find. Cynicism, complaint and negativity are easy and decrease our capacity to see beauty and blessings. Adventure into joy every day.
Isn’t that cool – using adventure as a verb? An action you choose for yourself. To adventure. An action that transports you to a wavelength of joy.
When really connecting with someone interesting, have you ever said to yourself, “Wow, we’re on the same wavelength.” Think about that word for a moment — “wavelength.” Sharing a similar rhythm. Aligning your experiences. Being in the same moment.
What power we have!
Here’s an experiment to try.
I’m confident that this 60-second exercise will either resonate with an already-happy mood if you have one, or begin to change your mood wavelength toward a positive direction. Whether it works or not, I’d like to connect with you to learn how you respond. The experiment is simple:
1. Ask yourself how happy you feel at this moment on a 1-10 scale (10 = very happy).
2. Take 60 seconds to view this “Happiest Facts of All Time” article from Buzzfeed and Reddit.
3. Come back to my site and post your thoughts, along with any change to your happiness rating that resulted from viewing the Happiest Facts article.
If your mood wavelength hasn’t budged upward, even a smidge, I’ll send you a quarter in the mail.
What have you got to lose?
On a 1-5 scale, how close are you to living a life that answers your inner calling?
Forgiveness is a gift that costs nothing.
There is tremendous power in forgiveness. We pardon mistakes or wrong choices of others as a means of growing, healing, learning and moving on. The power of forgiveness has long been documented. Think of the role it plays in self-esteem, interpersonal relations, philosophy, sports, child-rearing, education, and law. Forgiveness brings closure and resolution. Forgiveness frees us to make better choices next time.
So, where does forgiveness fit into training and leadership?
There is no greater learning opportunity than the chance to take a risk, or to make a decision that carries the risk of failing. When we provide a safe environment in which people can try, fail, and try again, we open up a world of learning opportunities.
How have you incorporated forgiveness into your training and leadership? Please share your thoughts below.
Susan Hendrich
Susan E. Hendrich 
Worth the 6 minutes to watch