 Here in Hawaii, we are blessed with what many have deemed “the best weather on earth.” And after living in or visiting almost every state in the union, as well as countries all over the world, I tend to agree with that statement. After all, there are not many places in the United States where you can wear a pair of shorts while walking amidst the warm December rain … and then surf the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean later in the day, just before watching the soft glow of the sun as it slips below the horizon… all while enjoying gentle hugs of the tropical trade winds. Yes… this is paradise. And for the 8 million visitors who will visit the islands this year, Hawaii, with it’s beautiful sandy beaches, shimmering sunsets, and wonderfully rich culture, is sure to please the most demanding of tourists. But alas, a tourist is just that: someone on a tour of a place different than his or her home. A tourist is a traveler, a visitor, a vacationer… a guest. And as everyone knows, when we have guests, we must put on our best behavior. We must exhibit those things that will make us proud. And (yes) we mustn’t purposely show those things that might cause a bad memory or two. Before you go off and think I am leading into a discussion on the lesser side of Hawaii, let me assure you: I love this land, and I have no quarrel with any part of my transitory experience on this beautifully remote family of islands. However, I am leading to an asterisk that must be annotated next to this wonderful destination. Yes… we consistently have some of the best WARM weather in the world. On the other hand, we will never have the recurring beauty of fabulous fall foliage. We will not likely enjoy the magic of making angels in the snow… or the real fun of creating that lovely little fella with a corncob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal. No sweet snowball fights in January. No super sledding in February. And no thunderous storms to alert us that March is coming in like a lamb and leaving like a lion. No… the weather we have here in Hawaii is special. But, then again, so is the weather everywhere else… in its own special way. Likewise, for the most part, you and I are both about as unique as “they” come. Yet, underneath the setting sun and pale blue sky of the glorious moon, deep down inside, we all want the same things. And for the most part, whether you are an employee, supervisor, manager, shareholder, or outright owner, we all live by the same great Truths in life:
Today, you are alive. Appreciate Life. Live it as if you were going to die someday soon. (Remember: “soon” is a relative term) Lastly, it seems like so many of us are searching for the “magic formula” for happiness, joy, or how to deal with life. Perhaps there **IS** a magic formula… But no one seems to know that formula. After all, bad things seem to happen to good people. And some of the worst people seem to get the best out of life. But, in reality, underneath it all, the only thing you absolutely KNOW is what goes on in YOUR life. In the final analysis, and in the overall scheme of things… ~ ~ ~ We all want the same things in life. We all seek the same sense of self. We all need the same assurance. We fish… we find… we feed. ~ ~ ~ And sooner or later, we feed from what we seed; we reap what we sow. So the magic formula just might be found tomorrow. But that all depends on what you do today. As an employee, are you doing more than your fair share? If you are doing more than your fair share, be patient… your time will come. Your path is set. As a supervisor, manager, or someone else’s boss, are you going the extra mile to invest in your workforce? What are you doing to defeat their misperceptions? What are you doing to prove (yes: PROVE) that you are the real deal (someone who deserves to serve more people, more clients, more customers, and far more lines within the business)? Underneath the corporate logo, everyone shares the bloodline of the organization. Yet, some people in the organization are parasites, vermin, and poisonous pests that (seem to) get more than their just due. Other employees are true heroes, seen and unseen, vocal and sometimes silent, and they often (seem to) face insurmountable odds. How can this be? How can they launch up the corporate ladder… but not them? More importantly, what can the heroes do to defeat the bloodsucking organisms that seem to plague so many organizations? Underneath this network of stretchy cells we all call skin, regardless of color, credo, or culture, we must somehow come to appreciate that part of our individual self that is far from perfect. We must find a way to accept that part of our self and those people for who they are, where they are, and what they do. For as much as we dislike the leeches of the world, they each serve a purpose. The real question for you is: Irrespective of THEIR purpose, what is YOUR purpose? For the most part, your purpose and his/her purpose are mutually exclusive. Indeed… that person’s purpose may seem wildly out of place, out of character, and even out of this world when compared to your place, your character, and your understanding of the world. In fact, as you well know, we sometimes allow coworkers and supervisors to drive us to the brink of madness with their incomprehensible behavior and decisions (Am I the only sane person here… or… Am I the only INsane person here?). Undeniably, madness sometimes seems to prevail… and we are often at a total loss when it comes to understanding or making sense of the madness. In truth, you should be glad that you don’t understand how someone can be that cruel, that mean, that self-serving, or any of those other horribly selfish adjectives. Be glad because, if you did understand it… then you would likely be capable of the exact same thing. Be glad that you are NOT capable of such horrific things. But do learn from the experience of seeing such vile behavior. Understand that, underneath that wretch of a person, there are beautiful characteristics that they have traded off somewhere along the line. Likewise, underneath the awesome beauty of every person, place, or thing, there are also other, attractive costs that each of us must pay. Like the fall foliage, snow angels, and smiling snowmen that we in Hawaii trade for the trade winds, opportunity costs are evident in every choice we make in life. If we want this, it will probably cost that. If we think we can have this by not doing that, sooner or later, the power of choice will again raise its awesome head. Want more money? Put in more time, energy, and effort – before, during, and after the task at hand. Want more snow? Go where there’s less warmth. Want more great leaders in your organization? Become one. Start with your self. Underneath it all… YOU are the magic formula. In reality, the best way to predict the future… … is to create it! Accept. Adapt. Achieve. ® What do YOU want to achieve? ~ This is a simple suggestion on how to The Ideal Life. ~ Think about the word IDEAL. It is actually a conglomeration of several smaller words, specifically: ~ I ~ ID ~ IDEA ~ DEAL ~ IDEAL ~ In the final analysis, if you can learn to master your Id (as in the ego, id, and superego), you can do some rather amazing things. The question remains... "What do you want to Achieve"?  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. Principal consultant at The PIE Group, John 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:   If you have read any of my previous posts, you are aware of my mantra, Accept. Adapt. Achieve. ® It’s more than a catchy bumper sticker and actually a great way to sum up a powerful theory on how to effectively handle everyday life at work, home, and play. But what does “Accept. Adapt. Achieve” really mean? Well, let’s start with the obvious: ACCEPT. Don’t fight what is; accept reality. Here’s a powerful fact: We cannot change anything that has already happened. The best we can do is to actually love it. This caution to love the bad things in your life may seem morbid, especially when terrible things sometimes happen to seemingly good people. However, by loving what “is,” we fully embrace what has already happened, and what was always meant to be, and will always be. By loving what is, we accept the reality of how things are. As the great poet Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ADAPT. Choose your battles and, more importantly, choose how to use your energy. Become adaptable. The word “adapt” is mentioned almost 50 times in my recent book, The Ideal. That’s 50 times in a book with 220 pages… hmmm; perhaps there is a theme within the book. When we become adaptable, we spend our energy working withpeople – not against the things that people do. When we become adaptable, we manifest life as described by Rumi when he said, “God teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.” When we become adaptable, we leverage our strengths and learn to extract value from what has already happened. When we become adaptable, we embrace change. And when we embrace change, we embrace life. For what is life without change? ACHIEVE. This last one is interesting. At the various keynote speeches I provide, I often conduct an informal poll asking the attendees which one of the three (Accept, Adapt, or Achieve) are most important. Time and time again, most people say, “Accept!” Only a handful will say, “Adapt.” And no one ever says, “Achieve.” However, “Achieve” is the most important of the three verbs. The ability to accept is necessary and powerful; yet it is often difficult to implement. Accordingly, one of my other frequent statements is, “Never underestimate the power of denial” (which is the opposite of “acceptance”). Likewise, the ability to adapt is highly desired; adaptability is a very practical trait in this ever-changing world. Above all… in almost everything we plan to do, we must begin with the end in mind. More to the point: What do you want to achieve? Sure, we can accept all kinds of things that happen without our knowledge or approval. And we can probably adapt to almost anything if we simply had to do it. But mere puppies, cats, and mice also accept and adapt. On the other hand, many species don’t adapt… and they eventually become extinct. The same can be said for bad employees, horrible bosses, and every other person in the world who does not adapt to their respective environment. As for you and me… when we learn to simply accept and successfully adapt, we can actually set the stage for awesome performance in this production called life. As the playwright, producer, director, and actor of your specific life, you have more than a starring role. You actually have access to the Master Plan, the goal, the target, and (dare I say it…) the purpose. So here’s the million-dollar question: What is your purpose? Try this word exercise: Say the following six words aloud, with a strong emphasis on the capitalized word.
A. Before you can create lasting change in your life, there are a few things you have to ACCEPT. What must you accept? B. Then, you can begin to ADAPT your daily lifestyle (or style of living) to a plan that facilitates the achievement of your goals. Change your life to match your goals. What do you need to change? C. If and when you can answer the aforementioned 4 questions, you will know this: What do you want to ACHIEVE? Only YOU know the answers to A, B, and C above. So again I ask you… What do YOU want to achieve? Accept. Adapt. Achieve. ®  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. Principal consultant at The PIE Group, John 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:   ILLUMINATE: How to clean your rose-colored glasses. Quick question: What are you doing Thursday, Friday and Saturday to plan for The Ideal life? How are you illuminating the path that lies not-so-clearly ahead of you? Here's one possible answer: use a calendar as a guide to practice proactive planning for positive presentations. In other words, at least once a month, proactively seek and sow new input to your positively skewed, renewed mind. This new influx of positivity could be a new book of positive poetry, an old book on optimistic thoughts, or even the very old Book of Proverbs, or other proverbial books (as written by various historical, proverbial or philosophical leaders). Of course, you can always check out johnclarkiii.com for fresh content and awesome reMINDers. Along the way, destroying bad habits, bad thoughts, and bad karma is not a bad idea. 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:
As you seek new (positively skewed) input into the mainframe computer that is you, consider the vast options available to you. Your new input could be a short lunch with a friend who always seems to have a sunny disposition. Your new input could be an extended meditation session that you choose to set aside specifically to receive new input from your deepest sense of self. In a sense, you are the best person to plan reMINDers that, despite all of its challenges, life could always be worse. As discussed in my book, The Ideal: Your Guide to An Ideal Life - “To truly change your priorities, you must SEE the need to change your priorities. In order to see the need to change your priorities, you must have the proper perspective. To change your habits, you must SEE the need to change your habits. To see the need to change your habits, you must have the proper perspective.” As you begin to incorporate new input into your positively skewed mind, your path will soon change toward an even brighter landscape, offering greater opportunities to get, give, and grow. Surely, you can set aside one day a month for such a grand opportunity as this! Here's the best part: consider yourself to be a tower of (positive) power. As your height of eye increases, so does your ability to see further, farther, and fonder. With every level of positivity that you add to the foundation of your progressively optimistic life, the higher your perspective becomes. By investing in positive research, reading, and reaching, you will reap an increased ability to illuminate the path ahead and literally see above your immediate problems, past the current horizon of horrors, and far belong the ways of woe. By using a calendar to practice proactive planning for positive presentations to yourself, you will soon be on your way to becoming an optimistic realist. You will no longer take wonderful blessings for granted. For you see, the ability to see is a blessing. Moreover, the ability to see that "the ability to see is a blessing" is, in and of itself, a blessing. Likewise, all of the other everyday miracles become much larger and grander in scope. Your investment of time seeking sunnier dispositions will soon be spent finding brighter spots in a sea of already shimmering solutions. Will life be perfect? Probably not. However, I promise you this: Your life WILL be better. And if your one, specific life can be better... imagine how many other people WE can affect as we effect an evolutionary realization that attitude determines altitude. And the highest of altitudes and attitudes project, promote and propel what seems to be a multitude of platitudes. But here's the thing: a platitude, though seemingly trite, is still a powerful point that is usually rooted in the (capital 'T') Truth. Accordingly, today, I Dare You to use your calendar to plan specific events to feed your soul. After all... (here come the platitudes) - • Better late than never. • Every cloud has a silver lining. • Forgive and forget. • Go with the flow. • Good things come to those who wait. • It is what it is. • Just be yourself. • Money can't buy happiness. • Nobody's perfect. • Strength is something you choose. • Such is life. • This, too, shall pass. • Time will tell. • Tomorrow is another day. • What's done is done. • You gotta do what you gotta do. If you accept and adapt to these illuminating platitudes, will life be perfect? Probably not. However, I promise you this: Your life WILL be better. ********** 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: ILLUMINATE your world. READ MORE…  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. Principal consultant at The PIE Group, John 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:  |
My purposeInspiring a worldwide community of optimistic realists. Archives
July 2024
Categories
|
RSS Feed