Two Valuable Ways to Enhance Your SuccessWritten by Gerri D Smith
LEADERSHIP IS POWER: TEST YOUR ETHICS by…Gerri D Smith Copyright 2004 _______________________________________“The payoff for ethical person is a reputation for honesty. It’s a payoff that makes every undertaking easier and attracts unsolicited opportunities. It’s also a payoff that results in strong friendships based on trust. And I don’t think there’s anything more rewarding." -Don Dwyer _______________________________________How much energy do you invest in developing your natural abilities and skills? Would you rather be a leader or a follower? Leaders like winning and tend to think well of themselves. They influence others by what they do, rather then by what they say. Most of time, leaders also do right things. Followers like to look for anyone that will tell them what to do and carry them through life. They are never in a position of power and are not rewarded for their lack of leadership ability. When you help others discover their abilities, and achieve greater success and happiness, you become better at what you do and add to your emotional prosperity. These qualities are power of leadership. Others are moved by your behavior and influence; this is ethics in action. Leaders are valuable in any organization. You are looked up to, able to make good decisions, and your strength to build on past successes is valuable. Leaders must demonstrate a high level of ethics. Acting in a moral light, obeying laws, and following through on your commitments, is payoff for doing right thing. It makes each task that you have to do much easier and many unexpected opportunities will come your way. Now that’s rewarding.
| | The Loneliness of Personal GrowthWritten by Skye Thomas
The cream rises to top. That means that it separates itself from milk. Perhaps that is what New Age Movement is really all about. We tell ourselves that it's lonely at top. Yes, it is. Maybe we have to figure out how to maintain ourselves as cream, but also stay whipped up within milk? I'm picturing some sort of luscious desert all decadent and wonderful... like hot cocoa with marshmallows stirred in rather than just floating on top. But then marshmallow is no longer a unique wonderful treat, it's been broken down into masses and lost it's integrity. It's a different lesson that comes into play after you've experienced a decent bit of enlightenment and growth.Look at kid who grows up poor. He travels along his journey and decides to change what he is experiencing. So, as he moves through life, he makes a conscious effort to enlighten himself about how to create an abundant lifestyle. He eventually accomplishes his goals and has a wonderful house, cars, money to vacation with his wife and children. His kids won't have to work so hard. He has their college money stashed away right alongside of his retirement fund. He is abundant, successful, and rich. What are chances that friends he grew up with are still around? Not very good. Most people who experience fulfillment of choosing to succeed in that area end up having to leave their friends behind. Often family members will get upset and shun them too. He is treated like some sort of a bad person for having succeeded while his peers failed. Eventually he has to find new friends and maybe even new family. It's no different with political enlightenment, spiritual enlightenment, or even becoming enlightened about relating to each other. The more mentally healthy you become, more spiritual, more balanced, more wealthy, more global you become... more alone you may feel. Often, we find ourselves unable to find those other rare individuals who are choosing same path as ours. The path of sloppy and lazy is full of other people to meet and talk to. The path of whiners is full. The path of being safe, generic, and boring is so crowded you almost cannot even move forward. Isn't that why you left that path? You had a need to move forward, a need for some elbowroom, a need to spread your arms wide, a need to be seen as special, unique, different. The masses may admire you, but they are not going to be able to really relate to you. You will be alone much of time. The best thing that has happened to those of us on this particular path is Internet. The planet just got a whole lot smaller and we can find our colleagues. The percentages of us versus them have not changed. We are still in minority, but at least we can find each other and encourage each other to hold strong. Knowing that there are others out there who are just like us makes it easier to hold our heads up high, throw our shoulders back, and say loud and clear, "I am what I am and I am not ashamed and I will not hide anymore." This holds true whether you are standing up proud to be a Christian, or Gay, or New Age, or amassing wealth, or raising your kids to be more than just disgruntled employees. When you become enlightened in some area, it is wonderful to find out that you are not alone, and through Internet, you can find cheerleaders.
|