Truth and time walk hand in hand!
Do you recall certain phrases or fables which express a truth that repeatedly is revealed in your consciousness?
It may strike you at the moment but no matter what seems to happen, how much information you process, or how busy you are the basic tenant just seems to stick.
Years ago, at one of the first Leadership Summits (now called the Global Leadership Summit) I heard Mike Singletary speak. Mike was a hard-nosed, all-pro middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears. He was known for his superhuman work ethic in studying the game films of opposing teams. He was engaging and as intense in this leadership talk as he was on the gridiron. He planted a seed that day that has sprouted into one of the mantras of my life. In fact, my adult children will tell you that they’ve heard it ad nauseam.
“Truth and time walk hand in hand!”
That’s it! When I first heard it I don’t think I was stunned, blown away, or even turned to my fellow participants and said, “Have you ever heard an expression so rich?” Yet, this seed has germinated over the years and now is one of the staples of my life and one I share with my coaching clients.
“Truth and time walk hand in hand!”
If we are patient…If we trust…If we just wait…the truth will be exposed over time.
It probably won’t be revealed as quickly as we may like. It probably won’t be unraveled at the pace we may like. And when it is revealed we may not even like the effect it may generate.
The reason I struggle with this, and you may too, is that I like to be in control. I want to make sure that I am a handler of truth; dispensing it at my will, on my command. Much like my DVR, when I want it, I get it! However, life is not my remote.
Truth is a gift to be handled with integrity, with a sacred sense of honor.
Those who seek to manipulate the truth or bully others with their perception of the truth will eventually be faced with a stark reality – you can only “manage” perception for so long before the truth is revealed. Over time the real truth will be exposed. “Truth and time walk hand in hand!”
What makes this even more mysterious is that neuro-science is teaching us that the limbic part of our brain, which has no capacity for language, expresses what we just “know to be true” or “feel” or “sense.” So when someone is feeding us a line, a lie, a half-truth, or a crock of barn-kaka, there is something that doesn’t seem right. We just know at some level that what they are trying to sell is not true. Try as we may, to wade through the smoke-and-mirrors of their speech; we may just have to wait for the truth to be revealed.
I’d be interested to hear if you have ever experienced the reality of the phrase: “Truth and time walk hand in hand!”
Normal is Overrated
As parents, my wife and I were keenly aware that from the time our children entered our home and even now as young adults, they face the challenge to define “normal.” Every stage of life means clarifying the definition; staring it in the face and in spite of all the odds forging ahead. “Normal” is allusive.
When I think of this stage of my life as a small-business owner I am faced with defining “normal”:
- What happens on a normal business day?
- Who are my normal clients?
- Am I a normal coach?
- Will I ever make an abnormal amount of money?
The following clip (38 seconds) from the movie Soul Surfer is the story of Bethany Hamilton, a teenager who is abnormally gifted to surf, who was abnormally attacked by a shark who severed her arm, and now finds herself having to face her future with an abnormal physic –one arm.
Maybe her mom’s admonition is one we all need to take to heart, “Normal is so overrated!”
What if…you chose to define “normal” in a different way?
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What is Clarity Worth?
Today I sat with a potential client. Two partners who had a great year; business growth and profitability. Their desire in 2011 is to, in their words, “take it to the next level.” Knowing I was a coach they wondered how I could partner with them. What would I propose?
In that moment, I was grateful for clarity. This past year provided me the opportunity to gain tremendous clarity about my business and my niche. How would I respond to their request? Position myself? Posture?
Without skipping a beat I was able to articulate what is really in my “wheelhouse.”
I’m not a consultant who has the talent to move your business to the next level and position your business for that type of success. Rather, I am a coach who can help you hire, keep, and train the right people who are grounded as being transformational people; in turn, that will make your business healthy as you grow.
Sounds simple. But it took me months to be that clear of my business model and then to articulate it with confidence, even with the possibility that I just may have talked myself out a job. Yet, their response was gratitude that I could clearly communicate my offering and that this type of honesty goes a long way in building trust.
My lesson…a transformational person is someone who is learning to be more purpose-centered and inner-directed, and in doing so, when it comes to articulating your purpose, even in your business, you can do it with confidence and clarity. I’m learning!
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mark@whatifenterprises.com
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