Courage – Engagement – Organization

I have a theory that has been bouncing around in my mind since Scott, Jason, Leah and I went to a three-day ‘In the Dreaming Room’ adventure in Carlsbad California with Michael Gerber.  We laughed and cried together while we went looking for the truth of why we were together, and what we were meant to do while we are here for our brief visit.

The concept started with a general discussion around training (corporate) and education (kids and schools) and what is missing from our customers lives and our own.  What skills, concepts or knowledge would help us be a better person, better able to face life and maybe make a bit more sense of ourselves, and hopefully live a happier life?

Many topics came up.  Some major themes around Tolle’s ego and Power of Now, Arbinger’s Self Deception and boxes, Covey’s 7 Habits, the 100+ skills courses we teach at our own facilities, and many more.  We made a list and categorized them, and came up with three major themes.  Courage, Engagement and Organization.  CEO.

Courage centers around taming the ego. Doing the difficult things.  Doing the important things.  Having the difficult conversations.  Making the hard choices and doing the work to make them successful.  Fixing bad habits and correcting things that have been holding us back.  Proper self-reflection and self assessment and knowing when we cannot do everything ourselves.  Dreaming big dreams.  Asking for help.  Asking for the things we want, in relations and in life.

Courage is the foundation you need to build deep and wide so that you can live a huge life.

Engagement focuses upon living the life of a peaceful warrior (Millman).  Living an awakened life (Gerber), not just going through the paces and hoping for retirement, or the weekend, or the end of the day, or recess. 🙂 

The truth is we have a limited amount of time here and we spend so much of it in habit, ritual and reliving things that have already gone on, while we have not.   Doing things ‘whole hog plus the postage’ even if it’s your first job, your last job, a job that is beneath you, a job you do not get rewarded for but there it is. There is peace, joy, power and love in the act of doing. If you are not engaged then you are asleep and you might as well be dead. Except you cannot come back from death, but you can awaken.  Do it today.  Do it now.

Engagement is the electricity flow that your building needs.  Turned on from a trickle to a torrent.

Organization is the catch-all, the skills, knowledge and understanding you need.  Typical that we invariably do the exact opposite action that will bring about positive resolution when facing a difficult situation. The old fight or flight instincts are strong while many a situation has been had by others and figured out, written about and improved upon. 

Organization is Best Practices.  It is learning how to learn, learning how to apply. Best practices for almost anything in life are on the shelves at your local bookstore or are only a search engine click away.  It is skills acquisition. It is the 7 habits, the 8th and 9th and more.  Apprenticeship, Journeyman then Mastery. Become a master at what you choose to do.  Do not go quietly into that dark night.

Organization is the skills you need to build your skyscraper so it reaches the clouds. 

It’s a personal CEO theory because you have to apply these principles to your own life so you can enjoy the benefits.  You are part of me and me part of everyone else.  So when you take a small step for yourself, we all move forward a bit, even if the rest of us do not notice. 

I am cutting tree limbs and weeds as part of my land clearing.  Today is the first day and I have started thing off right. I hope you will take up your sword and join me.  For each journey is in parallel.