Tag Archives: Courage

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Perseverance: A lesson from my childhood hero!

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When I was in elementary school I was EXTREMELY fascinated with this man’s life, and his contributions to our world.  So much so that when my classmates were ordering posters of movie stars, I ordered posters of him.  When my family drove to Disney World in Florida from North Dakota, the greatest event on the trip was a surprise visit to his birthplace!

As an adult, my co-workers gave me a beautiful gift from Successories with this man’s image and the quote below. Today I honor his birthday by sharing some of the lessons about perseverance, character, courage and leadership that I’ve learned from a man I’ve never met…

He FAILED in business in ’31.

He was DEFEATED for State Legislator in ’32.

He tried another business in ’33.  It FAILED.

His fiancée died in ’35.

He had a nervous BREAKDOWN in ’36.  

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Life Overseas: Turning Unwanted Change into an ADVENTURE!

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Life Overseas, Expat, Unwanted Change

New beginnings and fresh starts…

  • Can be exciting and fun!
  • Can also be pain-filled and very challenging because an ending has to occur before a fresh start happens.
  • Can be terrifying because they require you to leave what you’ve known and to change.

One of my life’s messages is encouraging others to make choices to leave their comfort zones, reminding them about all of the things they miss out on each time they choose not to take a risk and pointing out all of the growth that happens when they embrace change.

In the fall of 2012, just after sharing this message, my husband was asked to take a new position, across the world, in the only place we said we never wanted to live.

When I got past the shock, got a lot of basic questions answered, and spent quite a bit of time in prayer, I thought of a friend of mine…  

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Comfort or Magic? Go? Stay? Stay? Go?

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A few months ago I received this image from Debbie Laskey.

This simple image and 7 words (Your Comfort Zone – Where The Magic Happens) were so powerful that I was immediately impacted.  Since then I have continually shared the photo to illustrate how our daily choices impact individual lives, families and organizations.

Today I was thinking about:

  • People with dreams that are so big they seem impossible.
  • People that have recently experienced a life-altering event and are struggling to believe that good things will ever happen again.
  • Organizations that are seeking to breathe life into a vision that is larger than any one person or department.
  • People that have lived so long in a comfort zone that can’t yet see how it is killing their imaginations, their dreams, their joy, their health and their relationships…
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COURAGE ~ The testing point of every virtue

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I love this photo of the Lion.  It is such a powerful visual of traits I admire in leaders:  Strong, Confident, Peaceful, Wise, and Courageous.  He is fully aware of who he is and what he stands for.  Calm and relaxed, yet alert and watchful. Able to fully enjoy life as he currently knows it, and yet courageous enough to leave his comfort zone, and use his voice or his strength to empower, to protect or to create change the moment he is needed.

king

C.S. Lewis describes leadership this way:

[Tweet “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. “]

  • How many people and organizations do you know that need that kind of leader?
  • How many individuals and organizations do you know that are unhappy with their present reality and desire something different and yet do nothing to change their circumstances?
  • So why is there such a big gap between the desired result and the present state?  
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Are You Ready To Lead?

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A dear friend of mine, Sonia Di Maulo recently launched her wonderful book called The Apple in the Orchard.  Apple-in-Orchard-book-cover-300x239

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It is a beautifully written story about a little apple that has a burning desire to be a part of something greater than herself, and the journey that begins when she chooses curiosity and courage instead of life as she knows it.

When I read this book for the first time I was reminded of a favorite quote from Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it to a 6 year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

The story and the illustrations are simple enough to be a child’s bedtime story, challenging enough to be shared in an executive boardroom and inspiring enough to be read and savored again, and again, and again.  It is a perfect gift for yourself and for those you love and serve.

I asked Sonia to make a short video so you could see her, hear from her, and discover her passion for this book.

Ken Blanchard was the first Leadership Expert I followed.  If he wrote something, I bought it, studied it, I talked about it and I shared it!  Although I read lots of leadership material, I still quote him the most.  Check out what Ken has to say about Sonia’s book:  “The Apple in the Orchard by Sonia DiMaulo is a lovely little book with a profound message: To pursue greatness, aspiring leaders sometimes must dare to leave the familiar. Opportunities for growth and learning are all around you—so take the leap, and grow!” To learn more CLICK HERE.