Guest Blogger's Post

Albert Einstein once said “Gravity is the curvature of space and time produced by mass and energy.” You may ask how this would apply to us.

Gravity represents our past. It represents the things that have helped to shape our values. It is where we came from. It represents our heritage, our philosophy and why we do the things that we do.

Curvature represents the influence that our past exerts on the choices that we make in our journey in space and time.

Mass is presented by our physical being and energy is what we would use to propel our self forward.

In other words, the decisions and choices that we make now are affected by the reference frames of the past.

Socrates said an unexamined life is not worth living. Well let’s do a little examining.

Life is about the cycle of challenges and without breaking the cycle we find ourselves repeating the lessons over and over again till we master them.

Protagoras, an antiquity philosopher once said, “Man is a measure of all things”, meaning we look at the world from a human’s perspective.

Descartes also said, “I think therefore I am”, meaning we differentiate ourselves from the animal kingdom from our ability to be aware of ourselves.

True Leaders are individuals who have a greater level of awareness. Meaning that, they have the ability to see things from other people’s perspective. The work that we do on a daily basis often acts as gravity to hold us back. Sometimes we need to stop and think. And sometimes we need to be able to think from another person’s perspective in order to break the cycle to reach out to a new level of reality that enables us to have a richer dialog with the people that we work with. We need to be aware of our reference frames and unless we break from one reference frame to another, we will always be repeating the same lesson over and over again. That can be a little tiring and boring after a while, don’t you think?

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Reflection and Renewal

As I prepare to go on vacation next week, half-way around the globe (or more) to South Africa, it dawns on me that as Tom Friedman advises, “the world is flat” and technologically I could certainly take my office with me on vacation – not the people or the furniture, but the work itself. But then it also dawns on me that if the world is flat and I can connect from anywhere in the world, then isn’t the converse of that equally true? Isn’t it possible for me to disconnect without traveling anywhere? Couldn’t I, shouldn’t I be able to disconnect occasionally on a weekend at home? I’ll let you know the answer to that when I return.

Sidebar: In a mixed metaphor sort of way with a round globe and a flat world, wondering if there truly is a dawn (or dusk) and whether our horizons are simply determined by the strength of our vision.

Actually, I’m not taking a vacation from the people or the furniture…I’m not taking a vacation from anything. I’ll be headed toward a little “R & R,” which for me means reflection and renewal. I understand and am encouraged by others that this does mean disconnecting technologically. The good news is that my taking a vacation means that others get a mini stay-at-home, stay-in-the-office vacation without the emails, projects, ideas, and “opportunities” that I tend to generate in my excitement. Although, theoretically of course, I could return all reflected and renewed with some new dreams…and new plans…

Please note that I will be having a surprise “guest blogger” for one of the weeks that I am away, so look for that. I think you’ll find it intellectually simulating, insightful, and interesting.

black·ber·ry
Pronunciation [blak-ber-ee, -buh-ree] –noun, plural –ries
The fruit, black or very dark purple when ripe, of certain species of the genus Rubus

Growth, Abundance, and the Capacity to Give

Over the years, I have come to understand that many of the folks I work with in the public sector are caregivers, certainly in their work lives and perhaps even more so in their personal lives. However, as dedicated as they are to others, some of these givers are reluctant to receive care from others or even to care for themselves. Yet building a strong foundation of self is exactly what creates seemingly untold abundance for some and affords them the ability to give to others, consistently and reliably, and without sacrificing themselves.

It is pleasantly surprising how some people have such tremendous capacity to give to others and do so consistently. Giving is often considered a trait of “gatherers” rather than “hunters,” perhaps because gatherers create abundance that is predictable and reliable and hunters tend to have the “big kill” that while satisfying in the short term, is not sustaining in between kills – and that’s when we rely on the gatherers. In reality, the ability to give doesn’t have to be the exclusive purview of gatherers, but it does require that we create either professional or personal abundance. It means we must grow.

In a very recent installment of his “Winner’s Circle” newsletter aptly named “Personal Growth,” Lou Tice advises that “no matter how concerned we are about others, we are ultimately responsible only for ourselves” and that “being interested in personal growth doesn't mean you're selfish. Quite the contrary.” Growth gives us the confidence to receive and the abundance from which to give. Without growing, without abundance, we must instead sacrifice to give to others. I suggest that demonstrable sacrifice, like martyrdom, is actually the selfish path that draws attention to us much like the hunter’s big kill and similarly is not sustainable, while growth is the selfless path that allows us to gather abundance and to give, often without notice and for the longer term.

Growth, whether personal or professional, whether physical or emotional, is what maintains us, is what sustains us. So grow strong, take care of yourself, and give from a place of abundance, not sacrifice.