Masks

Deciding which mask I should put on everyday was a struggle.  A desperate need to show my true beauty to others was my highest priority.  Like most people, I wanted to look good.  But choosing which display wasn’t the only thing I was worried about; it was the people’s reactions and opinions that left me with the final impression of my decision.  Sorting through the massive clutter was stressful enough, but not enough for me.  I had to choose the perfect disguise in order to fulfill my desperate needs.  Then suddenly, my collection got too expansive and overwhelming.  Something needed to change.  Was it that I needed more colorful masks? Or maybe that I just needed to start my collection over? My voyage to find the perfect mask came to an end during the summer of 2010 when I attended the McGrane Global Centers, Move Into Your Greatness program.  I found exactly what I was searching for my whole life.  But what I found was no ordinary façade.  It was the face behind the mask that I began to boast.

             My entire life I have been using every ounce of my energy to make people happy— happy with me, happy with themselves, and happy with others.  I never thought of how draining this really was.  In order to fill them up, I left myself completely empty.  In order to satisfy everybody’s needs, I put a “mask” on to fit the profiles of what they wanted me to be.

             After years of hidden and isolated times, I came out of the program with no mask on my face.  Sensitive to the warm sun, my pale face was now exposed to the world.  Horrified of possible blemishes, yet the willingness to be comfortable being uncomfortable, I stood and basked in the sunlight for all to see.  Of course fear overwhelmed my body, but there was something about finally being exposed that just felt so right.  It felt so refreshing.  Could this really be happening?  Can I really go out in public without a mask on? 

             But the extraordinary thing I began to realize was, no mask can ever be your true identity.  Emotionless, apprehensive, and stone-like I was.  Did people really want me to be this way?  My immediate answer was yes, but after guidance came and showed me how beautiful my face was, I will never turn back.

             So the moral of this story is being courageous enough to let go of all of the facades and show people who you really are instead constantly attempting to adapt to each specific mold.  Energy, respect, originality, and confidence disappear until the mask is finally lifted.  Be yourself, love yourself, and honor yourself until the day you die.  Live by originality, and through originality, success will prevail.

 Christopher King  – See his video sharing the story

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There has never been anything with more powerful potential than an idea in the mind of a single person.  Einstein was a man who ate like other men and washed his face like other men.  Yet, beginning with the thinking of his mind we have been able to top the ultimate source of energy in nature.  Ideas are a dime a dozen.  It’s the idea that is acted upon which can make a difference.  I was reading a book recently about the thirty minds that shaped our civilization.  How many of the Great Thinkers do you recognize:

Jesus             Aquinas           Newton           Clerk Maxwell

Moses           Columbus        Rousseau         WilliamJames

Confucius  Machiavelli         Kant                Nietysche

Plato             Copernicus      Malthus           Pavlov

Aristotle       Luther             Clausewity      Freud

Euclid           Bacon              Darwin            Einstein       Wiener

Augustine  Descartes           Marx Keynes   Sartre

There are also many women who have impacted the world. See how many of these Great Thinkers you recognize: 

Sappho                                         Eleanor Roosevelt

Hildegard of Bingen                   Karen Horney

Sacajawea                                    Ruth Benedict

Margaret Fuller                            Anna Freud

Harriet Beecher Stowe                Margaret Mead

Susan B. Anthony                      Hannah Arendt

Elizabeth Blackwell                   Rachel Carson

Emma Curtis Hopkins              Mary Leakey

Marie Crie                                    Virginia Satir

Maria Montessori                       Shirley Chisholm

Mary McLeod Bethune             Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Helen Keller                                 Barbara Jordan

There you have it – 54 great thinkers.  How many of these individuals and their contribution to the world do you recognize?  Whose ideas make the most sense to you?  How have those ideas impacted your life?  Who are some of the other great thinkers you would like to investigate?  Do you want to be a great thinker?  What do you want to leave behind to grow?

Every day as you decide how to be productive, evaluate all of your ideas and then take action.  What career ideas will you use today to maximize your potential?  What book will you read today to improve your productivity?  What audio or video cassette will you play today to upgrade your competence?  What education course or seminar will you experience to invest more deeply in career knowledge?

Decide now to invest in great ideas and then, watch what happens!

Affirm:

“I now invest in great ideas of great
thinkers, including mine.”

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When I was in college, I worked part-time at a leather bag manufacturing company.  Since all the employees knew I was a short term worker, I was frequently told not to work too hard.  They knew they would still be there after I left and did not want a new standard set.

Would you agree many workers need and want more money to satisfy a comfortable lifestyle?  Do you know people who want a promotion?  What can be done to help people acquire the money and promotions they say they want?

The “and then some principle” says that you do what you are paid to do “and then some”.

The next time you call your favorite store, notice the tone of voice of the person who answers the phone.  Observe how long it takes you to get a solution to your challenge.

Hear the words the person uses to communicate with you.  Listen for courtesy, concern, and enthusiasm – that’s the “and then some principle”.  Then focus on your telephone skills.  If someone were evaluating your telephone competence, would they recommend that you be given a raise or a promotion?

Your voice has the power to turn people on or off.   Would your voice cause others to want what you have to offer?  There are three basic voice tones you can choose when conversing.   You can use a soft voice, your normal voice, or a command voice.  Each is acceptable.  The skill is knowing what voice is appropriate for  the situation.  For example; if a person was about to run in front of a car, you would use your command voice to save their life.

When you listen to a speaker, watch television, or go to a movie, notice the power the voice has in creating an  impact on you. Listen to hear the “and then some principle”.

Recall the voices from your past.  Whose voices do you remember?  How did you feel when you listened to them: comfortable or uncomfortable?

Decide now to develop your voice to create a climate of acceptance.  Refuse to yell or scream at anyone.  Soften your voice whenever another person is upset or angry.

For the next week invest in improving your voice and the, watch what happens!

“I now believe in the “and then some  principle” by doing more!”

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Are you an excellent achiever?  Did you ever watch the Olympic achievers?  Only one person wins the Gold Medal; only one person wins the Silver Medal; and only one person wins the Bronze Medal for each event.

How do you feel about your own level of achievement at this time of your life?  Just what is achievement?

To achieve means to overcome obstacles and accomplish difficult things.  The achieving person is one who exhibits a high degree of striving, excellence, and success.

People who are excellent achievers tend to: seek out and enjoy challenges, work hard in a smart way, make acceptable grades, and advance their education or knowledge in their areas of interest.

The more intact your Self-Esteem, the more you achieve, because you no longer compete with other people.   Since you only compete with yourself, you are free of comparison and you have the energy to be more curious about everything in your life.  As a result, you are more teachable, you study more, you learn more skills, you maximize your potential and you are outcome oriented.

In contrast with people who are driven to achieve, psychologists have found that many other people are motivated by fear of failure.  They compare themselves to others.  They settle for less and feel like victims.  Very often these people live a life of dependence, to one degree or another, rather than take charge of their lives.

As you watch the Olympic achievers, does their commitment to and show of excellence compel you to upgrade your competence?

How much more competent will you be five, ten, fifteen years from now?  What excellence will you  acquire in the seven areas of life: social, mental, physical, financial, spiritual, career, and family?

John Gardner, in his book Excellence, said: “Our society cannot achieve greatness unless individuals, at various levels of ability, accept the need for high standards of performance and strive to achieve those standards within the limits possible for them.”

Decide now to upgrade your Self-Esteem and you will become an excellent achiever and then, watch what happens!

Affirm in your life, “I now strive to achieve excellence daily.”

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For the short term break your next steps into very practical and specific baby steps that are measurable.  Like, I will communicate what I need and want to my spouse and children.  Assess your progress each day, week and month.  Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10.  In fact ask others for feedback on how you are doing.

Get an accountability partner, coach or mentor to help you stay on track.

Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen?  If you can live with that then the best that can happen will come to you.  If you want to get past the ordinary you need to intensify your activities so the extraordinary can exist.

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