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Change is all about process…One woman’s story

Changing anything, if you want the change to be sustainable, requires a process. While it would be delightful (and nothing short of miraculous!) to be able to not eat any sweets for one full day — for example — and lose all the weight you want to drop and look amazing in your clothes the next day, we know it isn’t possible.

Making the change begins with an idea, a desire…to do, be, or have something different than your current conditions and circumstances allow. Once the idea has grown and developed and taken root in our minds, we must then make the DECISION to act. Action requires forethought, intentionality and commitment to continuing to act, DAILY!

Here’s an example. It’s the story of an Australian woman who recognized the need to make some significant changes in several areas of her life, and she started with one small, simple act: Gratitude posts on her Facebook page. Some days they were pretty mundane, some days more significant. The point is, she looked for reasons to be grateful, and found them! When she found them, she considered them and shared them. These are small, daily steps in the right direction.

I would imagine that on some days it was pretty challenging, other days might have been easier — with the challenge being more about which one thing to focus on out of many reasons to be grateful. As her year progressed, she made other changes in her behaviors, sometimes enlisting support from her friends (think — inner circle — those people who should support, encourage, and complement you).

It’s a process. Process begins with a single step, followed by more single steps, and before you know it, you’re on track and moving forward.

What is it you want to change about yourself or your conditions and circumstances this year?

What is the one simple step you can start with?

What will you allow to get you off track once you’ve started?

Whose support can you enlist to help you along the way?

Start today! You’ll be better for it.

Then come back and tell me what you did and how it felt. Looking forward to hearing your stories!

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W3, M10 — Strategy

Good morning and Happy Friday! It’s going to be another beautiful Fall day here in West Virginia, and I will get to enjoy the colors of the changing leaves as I drive to Huntington to help some people work through a communication conflict. I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with these folks a few weeks ago, on a “fact finding” missing of sorts, and I’m confident we will work through the issues and develop some new guidelines for working together moving forward.

It’s really been a great week, filled with opportunities to share the gifts I’ve been given and add value to others in many ways. I spent a few hours with a small group of emerging leaders in the banking industry on Wednesday, teaching a couple of Laws of Growth (awareness and intentionality — my favorites, and truly the foundation for success in my humble opinion!) and a couple of Laws of Leadership (influence and connection). I learned vicariously from a couple of my coaching clients this week, as they discovered some personal truths. I watched John Maxwell’s book launch web cast. And I will soon be teaching Leadership Fundamentals to a couple of new supervisors.  I love what I do…

As I look ahead to the weekend, I have some bookkeeping to catch up on, some writing to do, and yoga, yoga, yoga! I will help my mother-in-law prepare to move into her new home. And I have a great new book to read, John C. Maxwell’s latest — Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn — about learning through adverse times.

What are you up to this weekend?

What do you need to do to take care of yourself?

What attention do the others in your life need from you?

What exciting things do you have coming up next week or in the coming weeks that you need to spend some time preparing for?

How will you feel when you get to and through some significant upcoming event, knowing you thoughtfully and intentionally prepared for it?

Looking forward to “seeing” you Monday.

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Transformation begins with me!

As you may be aware, I am in Guatemala City this week with John Maxwell, the John Maxwell Team (~150 coaches), La Red, Guatemala Prospera, and EQUIP. Our mission is to teach a process that will allow leaders within the seven streams of influence (government, business, media, faith community, arts & entertainment, family, and education) to facilitate growth within small groups over the course of the next 30 weeks, using content from John’s 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, and 15 corresponding values defined thru a survey of 12,000 Guatemalans as being critical for the future of their country.

We have spent the last day and a half learning this new process and going through it ourselves, to experience the power of it first-hand. It is simple, elegant, effective…powerful. It requires intentionality and transparency.

Beginning Thursday, we will be sent out to various sites around the city to teach groups between 40-80 people how to use the process. We will actually facilitate as they experience the process by working through The Law of Modeling and The Value of Listening.

In three days, we will have taught the process to 19,000 – 20,000 people. Each of them will facilitate the process with small groups of 8-10 people each, one session per week for the next 30 weeks. That means, 150,00 – 160,000 individuals will be directly involved…and if each of them has the power to influence a minimum of another four people each day…WOW!

The foundation is that transformation begins with me; I must first change if I want the circumstances and conditions of my life to change. The idea is to get people talking about the things they need to talk about.

As individuals embrace these lessons and begin to embrace and live the values, they will bring this change to life in their country. The effects may not be seen for years, but it will happen. This place and these people will be forever changed. But think of it this way: If each person touched by this process and this content can make a 1% improvement per week — at the end of a year, they will be 52% better than when they were exposed to this material.

Taking a step back from today, I am humbled by this opportunity. I have said I am on a mission to change the world one encounter at a time — whether that be with individuals, small groups and teams, whole organizations, or even larger gatherings. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my purpose is to help others step confidently into their potential through increased self-awareness and intentional action. I never imagined I would have the opportunity, so soon, to be part of something this significant…fully aligned with what I believe I’m here to do. And yet, here I am tonight, writing to you from Guatemala City!

The real truth of the matter is, whatever happens with the people and the culture here, I am already forever changed by this experience. I am more deeply connected with my John Maxwell colleagues, more aware of myself (thoughts, beliefs, preferences, etc…), and I am grateful. If all I am able to accomplish this week is to leave some people with hope for a better future, I will have been successful.

More to come, to be sure, as we are just beginning. Tomorrow, we meet with and get to know our translators; spend some time fine-tuning our process and personal stories; and in the evening, we have been invited to the Presidential Palace.

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