Don’t bother about genius. Don’t worry about being clever. Trust to hard work, perseverance and determination.  ~- Sir Frederick Treves (1853-1923) English Surgeon

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” ~Anatole France

‘Being proactive’ may be the single most important habit change that you’ll ever achieve. By being proactive you take control, you choose what you life is about. Life is not “happening” to you anymore.- Stephen R. Covey.

“If there is nothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you apply yourself you won’t get noticed, and that increasingly means you won’t get paid much either.” -Michael Goldhaber, Wired Magazine

What Michael says above is so true…that’s why I recommend a book called the BIG MOO.  My favorite story is on page 25.

What’s Your Big MOO?

Kirk Out

Kirk

“The Law of the Garbage Truck” ( A classic I know…but after watching the news this past weekend I felt like it was needed)

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, “Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car AND sent us to the hospital!”

That is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

So take your own garbage out - …but not out on others

Kirk

Servant leader and friend, Moreen Clark, signs her e-mails with this bit of wisdom….

“Change the way you look at things and things will change the way they look.” ~Lee J Colan

Change, it’s always better to have some than none.  ~ Kirk Weisler

“A new moral principle is emerging which holds that the only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to Individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted servants. To the extent that this principle prevails in the future, the only truly viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant-led.” ~ Robert K. Greenleaf

TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SERVANT-LEADER - Larry Spears

1. Listening receptively

2. Acceptance of (and empathy with) others

3. Foresight and intuition

4. Awareness and perception

5. Highly-developed powers of persuasion

6. Ability to conceptualize and communicate concepts

7. A healing influence upon people and institutions

8. Ability to build a sense of community in the workplace

9. Practice contemplation

10. Willingness to change.

“Servant-leadership begins with the desire to change oneself. Once that process has begun, it then becomes possible to practice servant-leadership at an institutional level.”

Kirk

I hope each of you had a marvelous and memorable Labor Day weekend with your friends and family.  I stayed home with my family and swam, cooked out, hung out, and chilled out.  It was very refreshing.  

I loved the Google logo on their homepage today….I find that I like that little bit of variety and creativity in my day.  It’s a small but important part of what helps me stay happy. 

Another thing that helps me be happy is when people trust me enough to give me responsibility.   Someone once said, “It is better to be trusted than to be loved” and there is a lot of truth to that.

“Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon them and to let them know that you trust them.”~  Booker T. Washington

Kirk Out

“The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are.” ~ Thomas Dreier

Throw out an alarming alarm clock. If the ring is loud and strident, you’re waking up to instant stress. You shouldn’t be bullied out of bed, just reminded that it’s time to start your day.  ~ -Sharon Gold

I remember years ago someone telling me - “If you need an alarm clock to get you out of bed for work in the morning, then you may need to find another job.”  Love getting up, love and look forward to the challenges of your life and your work (your life’s work)…because they require you to grow & create to solve them.  They also invite you to help others do the same.  ~ Kirk Out