"Do Have Vision, Focus and Clarity?"

Keep Your Goals in Sight
By: Author Unknown

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a
solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming
for nearly 16 hours.

Already she was the first woman to swim the English
Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to
become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the
California coast.

On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like
an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see
her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure,
only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid
grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.

Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her
trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much
farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not
to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half-
mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.

Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she
told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I
could have seen land I might have made it." It was not
fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was
the fog. She was unable to see her goal.

Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the
same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal
clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere
behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the
Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!

The Power Of WE!

The Power of “WE”
The leader’s language is revealing. I recently came across this video on leadership. It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a manager I’d been mentoring. The manger came to me with a BIG problem. He was having a difficult time getting his team to buy-in to “his” goals and objectives. After observing him in several one-on-one discussions and during team meetings, I approached him with a suggestion.
When you speak to your people, speak to them in terms of “We”. Let them know that you are in it together!
Jack Hayhow does an excellent job of sharing this concept in this quick two minute video. Check it out…

What challenges, in your leadership style, have you corrected to become a better leader?

"Is Social Media Just A Fad Or ASerious Virusis?"

"What Do You Consider To be The Seven Wonders Of Your World?"

What are the Seven Wonders of the World?
By: Author Unknown

A group of students was asked to list what they thought
were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there
were some disagreements, the following received the most
votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. Saint Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one
quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked
the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl
replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe
we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders
of the World' are:

1. to see
2. to hear
3. to touch
4. to taste
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love."

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we
take for granted are truly wondrous!

"Do You Know What's Missing From Your Life?"

You Don't Have To Be Perfect
By: Harold Kushner

The Missing Piece (by Shel Silverstein) tells the story of
a circle that was missing a piece. A large triangular wedge
had been cut out of it. The circle wanted to be whole with
nothing missing, so it went around looking for its missing
piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could
roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the
way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It
found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it
left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching.

Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly.
It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing
missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and
began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could
roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to
the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed
when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece
by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.

The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense we
are more whole when we are missing something. The man who
has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never
know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his
soul with the dream of something better. He will never know
the experience of having someone who loves him give him
something he has always wanted and never had. There is a
wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his
limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his
unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing
so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has
learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a
tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel
like a complete person.

When we accept that imperfection is part of being human,
and when we can continue rolling through life and
appreciating it, we will have achieved a wholeness that
others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God
asks of us - not "Be perfect" and not "Don't ever make a
mistake," but "Be whole." And at the end, if we are brave
enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough
to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise enough to know
there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can
achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will
ever know.