 Given the extreme nature of these challenging times, today, I’d like to re-visit a previous Two-Little-Word concept. It’s something I discussed on Day #2 - Faith. Today, I’d like to suggest that each of us seek to have MORE faith. First, you must understand that everything… yes… everything is bigger than you. Is this humbling? Yes! Is this wonderful? Absolutely! How can this be humbling and wonderful? Quite simply… We are in a relationship with everything… Worded differently, yet the same: E V E R Y T H I N G is connected. Thus, we are in a relationship with everything. By definition, a RELATIONship is how individuals relate to one another. And relationships are always so much more important than the respective individuals in the relationship. Thus, in business, romantic, and social relationships, the individuals must always appreciate and respect the relationship more than their separate and distinct "selves." When people think or make themselves more important than the relationship, the relationship loses the integrated aspects of beneficial exchange. And, as such, therein begins all kinds of potentially destructive behavior. As we progress through today’s Two Little Words (and the next one), we must now and forever appreciate the vast connectedness of our self, the environment, and our respective missions. Worded differently, yet the same: Life is bigger than any one of us. Yet, as insignificant as that last statement may appear to make you and me, in reality, we are an integral part of… uhm… everything! Everything is connected in some way, shape, form, or fashion. Accordingly, the good, the very good, the bad, and the very ugly are related and in a relationship with you. But (as many will say…) “This means we are not protected from the bad! What can we do to protect ourselves from the bad and the ugliness of the world?" Such concerns are made up of an intangible entity called “fear.” And the best way to deal with fear is with another intangible entity called “faith.” But what, exactly, is this thing called “faith”? Faith is more than confidence, reliance, and belief. Yet, as you and I both know, faith is not quite assurance. Or is it? It has been said that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. Yet, for many of us, faith remains an instrument of contrivance that we purport to present in times of need, want, or desire. Not surprisingly, we call upon a renewed sense of faith in times of great distraction, despondence, and despair. Well, it seems to me that now is a good time for a renewed sense of faith. Please forgive me if I seem cynical; I am not cynical… I am idealistic. And I am merely asking you to better define what most people consider faith. Why? Because everything in life requires faith. This small statement of truth is profound on a level that most people rarely understand. Every single act you do on a daily basis… is an act of faith. We have faith the sun will rise next Tuesday. We have faith in the corner store being open – and having toilet paper - especially when we need that store to be open. We have faith that our cousins, brothers, sisters, and all of our other relatives will grow old with us. We have faith that the government will be intact when the worst possible things occur. We have faith that our personal interpretation of the facts is an accurate reflection of reality. And in one way or another, we have faith that the worst-case scenario (whatever it is) will either 1) not occur; or 2) not occur to us; or 3) if it does occur to us, we can somehow, someway get past it. Indeed, everything in life requires faith. Whether you know it or not, we all have faith in a belief that... no matter what HAS happened; no matter what WILL happen, our situation is not at an end, but rather at a whole new beginning. And with a little (more) faith and a (lot more) focus on the positive aspects of life, we can achieve the best, most awesome, wonderful thing in the world... We can achieve presence in the present. But let’s not get ahead of our self. The question remains… What is faith? If I may… In my humble opinion, faith is a commitment to your belief. And a commitment is more than a passing promise. A commitment is...
And though commitment is important, we MUST understand that re-commitment is almost as important as the initial commitment. In our daily walk with self, it is only the “I” that knows what “they” can never know. It is only through S.E.L.F.-recognition of our personally known weaknesses that we can become stronger. And our only real weakness is often found in our refusal to re-commit to our previously established beliefs. Interestingly, in our minute-by-minute travels through the valley of the shadow of death, we are already committed to taking the next step. In fact, We HAVE to. (After all, life is not so bad when you consider the alternative). Take a moment and smile: You have (already) been taking that familiar, yet unknown next step since Day One. Good for you! But now… Let’s take it a step further (pardon the pun). Let’s, um, take a step back, and re-commit our self to that glorious blaze that sparked a flame in our hearts many, many moons ago. Let’s rekindle the commitment to our belief, and to our knowledge. Let’s have faith… you and me. First you, then me. Don’t just have faith; have more faith. Go all in. Give your faith all of you, and your relationship with faith will soon change more of you. Don’t worry about me. I said a few prayers before, during, and after writing this; now... I have MORE FAITH. How ‘bout you? Aloha, John  John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist. Principal consultant at The PIE Group, and Executive Director of TeenBuilding USA, [a non-profit 501c(3)], 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:  |
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