 POLLINATE: How to clean your rose-colored glasses. As we gorge ourselves on social media telling us the right way to do this, that, or the other, including the five quick steps to do this, and the top three things to do that, we are often left unsatisfied with our progress, our prognosis, and the probability of success. We seek; we find. But what did we leave behind? We reap; we sow. But where did we really go? Amidst this ever-evolving worldwide web of communities, is the world better off today than, say, 10, 15, or 20 years ago? Perhaps we are in a better place… if for no other reason than owning a wider aperture of understanding. I use the phrase “wider aperture” because I firmly believe “understanding” is NOT the path to betterment, in and of itself. In fact, like you, I am often disenchanted with politicians, religious leaders, and folks on the other side of the street. And though I’ve heard the admonishment “seek first to understand,” I’ll never understand serial killers, corrupt politicians, or perpetually pessimistic people. I see the world through a different lens. Accordingly, having rose-colored glasses is actually a good thing. Just remember: windshields, thoughts, and even rose-colored glasses eventually need cleaning. These last 10 Dares are essentially a step-by-step guide to proactively clean your rose-colored glasses throughout the day and week. Start, maintain, and end your day with these 10 practical steps to Clean Your Glasses:
Instead of seeking first to understand, I believe a much better approach is to “embrace our lack of understanding.” Why? …because understanding implies an ideological alignment of sorts... not quite an agreement, but not a total disagreement either. And some things are best left “not understood.” As an optimistic realist, I am often questioned about my religion, my favorite philosopher, and my pet peeves. Understandably, people want to know what makes me tick, and what ticks me off. Obviously, serial killers and corrupt politicians are high up on my personal no-fly list. But cynics, pessimists, and naysayers have a very special place in my heart. Why? ...because they are the forbearers and, ironically, the precursors to optimism. Indeed, if you scratch the surface of a cynic, you can usually find an idealist. And idealism is just a quick hop, and a small hope from optimism. The big question is, “How do we get from Here to There?” The answer: Pollination. You, your shared opinions, and your everyday interactions are far more important than you might think. And despite the massive change that manifests itself every second of every single day, there is a very delicate balance within this unbelievably simple world in which we live. Accordingly, like the busy bees constantly going about their daily routine while simultaneously, inadvertently changing the entire world through cross-pollination… you and everyone we meet literally create causes and subsequent effects that literally change the world. (In a previous draft of this blog posting, I used the phrase, “CAN change the world.” However, in reality, everything we do DOES change the world. E V E R Y T H I N G !) With your help, your energy, and your energetic self… we can plant, pollinate, and fertilize the seeds of a world where people understand the true meaning of prosperity, which is from the Old Latin phrase pro spere, which means "according to expectation." Thus, I ask you to do just one thing today: HOPE. Set your expectations high. Hope is not a solution, but it’s definitely a good start. If you are hopeful, you are already plenty prosperous. And if you don’t believe this far-reaching fact, consider what your life would be like if you were truly hopeless. Keep in mind: things and situations are rarely hopeless… people often are. And now that you KNOW how prosperous you can be, I challenge you to help somebody, somewhere, somehow, some way to see that our vast wealth sits not in the Bank of XYZ, but rather in the corners of our mind, at the quaint intersection of Choice and Hope. One leads to the other. And without one or the other, we flail aimlessly along the highway of life, fretting about each approaching horizon. Like you, I am in the perpetual pursuit of happiness. And after years of planning, doubting, rerouting, and backtracking on my particular journey, I was treated to a mental miracle…. a wonderful map presented itself into my expecting hands. Amazingly, I found easy-to-follow instructions to the destination I was seeking. Today, I present the map to you for careful consideration and evaluation… In the final analysis, if you give happiness wherever you go, you will find it there, too. Just don’t spend all of your time looking for it. ********** Indeed… It’s all about YOU. But tell me: What’s your role in your soul, your goal, and for whom the bell tolls? Today, I dare you: POLLINATE our world with hope! Remember: Some people cause happiness WHEREVER they go. Others cause happiness WHENEVER they LEAVE. Which one are you? READ MORE…  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. He believes better development of leaders is what we (all) need. And to be better organizations, we need more good leaders, not followers. To build better leaders, we must start with the individual (you, she, he, and me). Described as “an innovative leader,” John teaches leaders, organizations, and individuals how to inspire each other. With a bold goal to inspire a worldwide community of optimistic realists who continuously accept, adapt to, and achieve the bold and beautiful concept of The Ideal Life, John is leading a movement to inspire people to apply his trademarked mantra {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®}. An innovative business manager and retired naval officer, John is fascinated by leaders and organizations that make the greatest impact within their organizational culture and within the “real” world — people who “get it.” Over the course of his life as a military leader, corporate mentor, and innovative content creator, John has discovered a wealth of insight about how we think, act and communicate within our respective work/life environments. As a career naval officer, mentor, educator, and optimistic realist, he has devoted his life to sharing insights to assist in our quests to become better at what we all do – live @ work! An optimist with a penchant for writing about realistic solutions to the challenges of everyday life, John is the author of 3 books: a leadership-development insider, "The Ideal: Your guide to An Ideal Life," a teen-focused guide, "Getting Out: Expert Advice for Today’s Teens," and the Christian-based book, "God’s Heartbeat: A Powerful Premise for Leading a Christian Life." He delivers a unique and refreshing point of view to life's seemingly overwhelming situations. Through books, blogs, and everyday conversation, John's message resonates with an empowering blend of ideals that enrich, uplift, and “authorize” people to set and achieve goals far beyond current mindsets. His trademarked phrase is a winner:   I am a retired naval officer, with over three decades of Active-Duty service. Over the last 30+ years, the Navy has changed much. For example, in addition to decreased rates of sexual assault, we now have women who are not only serving on combat ships, they are also inspirational Commanding Officers of those mighty warships. More recently, Lorna M. Mahlock became the first Black woman to be nominated as a Brigadier General (a one-star general) in the United States Marine Corps, a true first of its kind for the Marines. Still, the last two years saw an actual surge in the number of reported sexual assaults in the American military. To be sure, with regard to fundamentally changing and continuously reshaping the military culture, we must remember that our services draw upon a cross-section of America. And, as such, regardless of the remarkable selection and rejection process, our service academies and enlisted recruiters still garner a cross section of personnel from our nation’s vast population of young people. Those young people each have their own respective talent, temperament, and traditions. Accordingly, we must inspect what we expect – something of a critically needed feedback loop. I believe the military is facilitating this feedback loop via surveys and interviews, a rudimentary but viable feedback mechanism. And yet, our nation’s military must also become more proactive and courageous on HOW we deliver messages regarding sexual assault. And, guess what… the message is not just about “zero tolerance.” That’s a reactive and, literally, untrue message. The message should altogether be about a shared ethic; an emotional connection; and a factual, logical discussion on not only WHY these types of events continue to happen, but also HOW to prevent them from occurring. Though I am a tried and true retired naval commander, when it comes to the prevention of sexual assault, I witnessed one of the most powerful training methodologies I have ever seen while serving as the Director of Operations (Brigade S3) at the 599th Transportation Brigade, an Army command here in Hawaii. The approach to effective training was simple… But it was definitely not an easy approach. The Program Manager for the SHARP program brought in a true survivor; a victim of a very real and very serious sexual assault. In no uncertain terms, that young lady’s courageous stand impacted the audience in a way I had never seen before. She was a junior soldier. She was also the daughter of a senior Army officer. As she unpacked her personal story to the training audience, her Truth resonated with a gravity and gut-punching reality that can only be garnered by someone who has suffered what she had personally endured. Much like the fact that fathers of only boys will never understand what it’s like to be the father of a daughter. And much like the fact that there are some things that a woman will not know until she becomes a mother (or a grandmother) … there are subjects in life that are best taught by a select few. The qualified education that is imparted by an experienced individual is inherently invaluable. Ironically, the military, with its legions of generals and admirals, colonels and captains, should understand and apply this concept in the same manner they promote and provide for the most experienced, knowledgeable, qualified, and (hopefully) insightful leaders. After all, generals have spent years in the sandbox. And admirals have spent years circumnavigating the earth by sea. When it comes to their respective service missions, they can tell you how to do X, Y, and Z… literally with their eyes closed. I have a life mantra that I garnered while serving a fateful assignment in the sandbox somewhere in Southwest Asia. And if you have ever read any of my books, blogs, or short post/responses, you are likely aware of my familiar refrain of {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®} Whenever I speak with a group of leaders, I “give” this mantra to them as a roadmap: If we can accept something, we can usually adapt to the related situation, and we can then achieve a desired result. Indeed, if we can ACCEPT and ADAPT, we can ACHIEVE almost anything. Thus… Accept>>Adapt>>Achieve ®. Yet, it is the inverse of the mantra that is the actual roadmap... Thus... Achieve>>Adapt>>Accept. Ask yourself:
And then, once you have answered that question, ask yourself another question:
Finally, we get to the heart of the matter: in order to effect true change…
I caution leaders against trying to fully understand (as opposed to simply accepting). I’d say that 99% of the population probably doesn’t understand how a cellphone works, but 100% of the population fully accepts what little they know… and then they use the device. Likewise, if the military wants to change the culture, they must first ACCEPT a few things. Unfortunately, the United States Army vigorously facilitates mounds and mounds of annual training to its force of Active and Reserve soldiers, civilian employees, and contracted personnel. Why is this “unfortunate”? Because the educational videos and computer-generated training programs often miss the mark. What is this “mark” of which I speak? It is the mark of empathy. Indeed, the videos and computer-generated training programs all too often become a check in the ol’ Training Box. As I stated in my retirement speech in 2018, in terms of a quantity of time, I own one million seconds of time in the United States Navy (1986-2018). And by the time I was promoted to commander, I also owned a sort of upgraded citizenship. Please understand: this “upgraded” citizenship is not a better citizenship, but rather one that comes with higher expectations. And we very well should expect more from our military. After all, it’s where we send our most treasured assets: our sons and daughters. Accordingly, it’s time for our senior military leaders to stand up and speak up about personal development as well as professional development. It’s time to move past the sympathetic ear and the overzealous training programs. It’s time to proactively and literally preach not only to the ears of the incoming classes of warriors, but also to the hearts and minds of every single Soldier, Marine, Sailor, and Airman. We will move the needle only when we have courageously, proactively, and continuously aligned a personal and precise message that “It is our individual duty, mission, and responsibility to fundamentally change and reshape our culture.” To effect such a change, we must integrate the message and the medium with the ethos, pathos, and logos that is REQUIRED for such a life-altering, mission-ending, personnel crisis that results from head-in-the-sand training regiments. If the Navy wants to improve its metrics on sexual assault, it needs to improve its indoctrination of every single one of our Sailors. If the Navy wants to improve its metrics on sexual assault, it needs to understand that metrics don’t tell the whole story. If you truly want to know the whole story… ask a survivor. © 2019 John H. Clark III. All Rights Reserved.  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. He believes better development of leaders is what we (all) need. And to be better organizations, we need more good leaders, not followers. To build better leaders, we must start with the individual (you, she, he, and me). Described as “an innovative leader,” John teaches leaders, organizations, and individuals how to inspire each other. With a bold goal to inspire a worldwide community of optimistic realists who continuously accept, adapt to, and achieve the bold and beautiful concept of The Ideal Life, John is leading a movement to inspire people to apply his trademarked mantra {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®}. An innovative business manager and retired naval officer, John is fascinated by leaders and organizations that make the greatest impact within their organizational culture and within the “real” world — people who “get it.” Over the course of his life as a military leader, corporate mentor, and innovative content creator, John has discovered a wealth of insight about how we think, act and communicate within our respective work/life environments. As a career naval officer, mentor, educator, and optimistic realist, he has devoted his life to sharing insights to assist in our quests to become better at what we all do – live @ work! An optimist with a penchant for writing about realistic solutions to the challenges of everyday life, John is the author of 3 books: a leadership-development insider, "The Ideal: Your guide to An Ideal Life," a teen-focused guide, "Getting Out: Expert Advice for Today’s Teens," and the Christian-based book, "God’s Heartbeat: A Powerful Premise for Leading a Christian Life." He delivers a unique and refreshing point of view to life's seemingly overwhelming situations. Through books, blogs, and everyday conversation, John's message resonates with an empowering blend of ideals that enrich, uplift, and “authorize” people to set and achieve goals far beyond current mindsets. His trademarked phrase is a winner:   INTEGRATION: How to clean your rose-colored glasses. I love the way my car accelerates when I press ever so slightly on the accelerator. At the same time, I am comforted by the proximity of the brake pedal… standing by… always there when I need to slow down or stop. And then there are those mirrors… all three of them. They are like my older sisters, holding my hand as I traverse the precarious pavement ahead, below, and ultimately behind me. My heart quickens as my eyes dart from the driver’s side mirror, across the rear-view mirror, and then over to the passenger-side mirror. I sweep right, left, and then focus on the center windshield as I become one with my vehicle. I move only when the car moves. I speed up, and so does my car. I slow down, as does my car. We are one… and that’s a good thing! Likewise, having rose-colored glasses is actually a good thing. Just remember: windshields, thoughts, and even rose-colored glasses eventually need cleaning. These last 10 Dares are essentially a step-by-step guide to proactively clean your rose-colored glasses throughout the day and week. Start, maintain, and end your day with these 10 practical steps to Clean Your Glasses: - Dare #16 - Step #1 - Meditate - Dare #17 - Step #2 - Dedicate - Dare #18 - Step #3 - Separate - Dare #19 - Step #4 - Educate - Dare #20 - Step #5 - Integrate - Dare #21 - Step #6 - Pollinate - Dare #22 - Step #7 - Rejuvenate - Dare #23 - Step #8 - Illuminate - Dare #24 - Step #9 - Incinerate - Dare #25 - Step #10 - Congratulate I love the way my car accelerates when I press ever so slightly on the accelerator. At the same time, I am comforted by the proximity of the brake pedal… standing by… always there when I need to slow down or stop. And then there are those mirrors… all three of them. They are like my older sisters, holding my hand as I traverse the precarious pavement ahead, below, and ultimately behind me. My heart quickens as my eyes dart from the driver’s side mirror, across the rear-view mirror, and then over to the passenger-side mirror. I sweep right, left, and then focus on the center windshield as I become one with my vehicle. I move only when the car moves. I speed up, and so does my car. I slow down, as does my car. We are one. I am integrated with my car. And when you think about it, driving is a rather complicated symphony, if not a coordinated cacophony of carefully communicated compositions created by the drivers within… each playing his or her respective part. Each interdependent vehicle is alone yet completely in accordance with every other vehicle on the road. Likewise, so are you and I. We each have our respective part, seemingly isolated, independent, and irrespectively apathetic of one other. Yet, like the drivers and cars along the literal highway, our life’s highway has a way of bringing us together… sometimes on a parallel course, and other times on a divergent, if not perpendicular path. In this sense, we are integrated, you and me. Somehow, some way, your actions ultimately affect me, and vice versa. Accordingly, I ask that you slow down, check your mirror, and keep our integrated melody in tune. Know that I am somewhere relatively close, fully incorporated into what you are doing. Similarly, you are an integral ingredient into the world that is mine. This incorporated us… this amalgamation of what was and what is… Well, it’s no accident. And as you approach the next inevitable horizon, I Dare You to think about how you are integrated into the very fabric of your company, your community, your culture, and your core group of friends and family. What key ingredient do YOU provide to help keep it all together? If this question seems a tad bit too difficult to answer, perhaps another question is better suited for you: What are you doing to rip it all apart? To be sure, these are two tough questions. But if this year is to be a better year than the one before, these are the questions we need to ask ourselves... More specifically, these are questions we need to ask our SELF. These are the questions that need to be directed to your SELF. Your SELF is that part of you that only YOU know. Only YOU know your daydreams, your nightmares, and (between the two of those), which is the one that takes up most of the space in your head. As you approach the next inevitable horizon, I Dare You to think about how you will get from HERE to THERE. Getting from here to there is all about the crossroad and not the letter ‘T’. Getting from here to there requires a map and directions: Goals, Plans, and Actions. Getting from here to there is definitely not an accident. ********** Indeed… It’s all about YOU. But tell me: What’s your role in your soul, …your goal, and for whom the bell tolls? Today, I dare you: Investigate how you INTEGRATE your self. READ MORE…  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. He believes better development of leaders is what we (all) need. And to be better organizations, we need more good leaders, not followers. To build better leaders, we must start with the individual (you, she, he, and me). Described as “an innovative leader,” John teaches leaders, organizations, and individuals how to inspire each other. With a bold goal to inspire a worldwide community of optimistic realists who continuously accept, adapt to, and achieve the bold and beautiful concept of The Ideal Life, John is leading a movement to inspire people to apply his trademarked mantra {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®}. An innovative business manager and retired naval officer, John is fascinated by leaders and organizations that make the greatest impact within their organizational culture and within the “real” world — people who “get it.” Over the course of his life as a military leader, corporate mentor, and innovative content creator, John has discovered a wealth of insight about how we think, act and communicate within our respective work/life environments. As a career naval officer, mentor, educator, and optimistic realist, he has devoted his life to sharing insights to assist in our quests to become better at what we all do – live @ work! An optimist with a penchant for writing about realistic solutions to the challenges of everyday life, John is the author of 3 books: a leadership-development insider, "The Ideal: Your guide to An Ideal Life," a teen-focused guide, "Getting Out: Expert Advice for Today’s Teens," and the Christian-based book, "God’s Heartbeat: A Powerful Premise for Leading a Christian Life." He delivers a unique and refreshing point of view to life's seemingly overwhelming situations. Through books, blogs, and everyday conversation, John's message resonates with an empowering blend of ideals that enrich, uplift, and “authorize” people to set and achieve goals far beyond current mindsets. His trademarked phrase is a winner:  |
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