Share Passion‏

When my father-in-law was the director of  The South Philly Boys Club he often mentioned that one of his employee’s would “live to eat, not eat to live .”  I believe he was saying that the gentlemen was living his life to the fullest.  I wonder sometimes do people really live their life to its fullest.  Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said “As life is action and passion, it is required of man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at the peril of being not to have lived.”  Share your passion as I believe it’s lacking in our world today.

Steering The Talk To Fit The Audience‏

Many years ago when I was giving talks every night I would call home afterwards and my wife would ask, “How were you?”  I would answer back, “I was fine” however one particular night unknowingly I replied, “They were great.”  At that moment I realized it was the listeners that mattered and not my particular talk.  That process is called, Cybernetics. A Greek word meaning “steersman,” it is the process by which the speaker listens to the effect of his talk and then adjusts his continuing conversation to fit the needs of the situation. A simply example of  a mechanical cybernetic device is a home heating thermostat which turns off the heat when the house reaches a certain temperature. Thus the speaker listens to keep himself informed of the effects of their communication and then adjusts the speech accordingly.  An experienced speaker can “feel” the crowd and their reaction to the first couple of comments especially when there is humor involved.  I love all audiences as they can make it challenging and fun!

Understand vs. Understood‏

There is a belief that if you are not humble then you are heading for something which will humble you.  One key concept in getting along with the world around you is to let go of being right. This is often difficult in a world that preaches self esteem is critical to ones success but people today need to be understood now more then ever.  A prayer which helps me along the way is, “Lord help me to understand as opposed to being understood.” I believe all of us have a great need to be understood which is why this pray is effective and humbling.

How Do You Motivate Someone Else‏

In my travels people ask me how I motivate my sales people, or how do I motivate people in my organization? Its interesting question. I first learned about motivation during my senior year of high school playing football. We were losing 7-6 to our closest rival at half time.  The Coach gave us a real motivational talk, the kind that Joe Paterno would be proud of.  We kicked off to start the second half and the ball went into the end zone and the opposing team initially fumbled it but pick it up and ran 101 yards for a touchdown.  The final score was 35-6.  His motivational talk lasted about only four minutes until that adversity struck.   That is the fickle part of motivation.  Leaders can only create an environment for motivation.  It is up to each person to motivate themselves as motivation comes from within each individual.

Are Your Nets In Need of Repair

In these tough economic times we all need “life rafts” that we can go to in times of trouble.  If you recall the biblical story where Peter and the guys were out fishing all night and did not catch any fish leaving their nets empty.  Jesus met them near the shore and said, “Cast out your nets” but Peter responded, “We have been fishing all night and have caught nothing.” However, Peter listened and the rest of the story is well documented as they needed another boat to gather in all the fish. So when you feel that your net is empty, you need to meet Jesus half way and ask for his help……Jesus will never fail to fill your net.