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Point to Ponder
I had the privilege
of attending the 4th Fabulous
at 50 Experience
on Sat. Nov. 3rd along with my wife and her friend Charlene.
I have been going to these events in support of boomer women
since Dianna Bowes launched the first one. Each one is better
than the last.
This day is a day of
inspiration and education for women (and the few men) who attend
each year. It is focused on them and their needs and serves
them well.
Dianna just released
her first book and included Marianne Williamson's poem penned
for Nelson Mandala. I have read it before and include it again
for all of our illumination as we move towards the end of this
year. Savor Marianne's words and take them to heart... better
yet take them into action in your life and in the lives of those
you love and engage with on a day to day basis.
Our
Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson
Our
deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our
deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It
is our light, not our darkness
That
most frightens us.
We
ask ourselves
Who
am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually,
who are you not to be?
You
are a child of God.
Your
playing small
Does
not serve the world.
There
is nothing enlightened about shrinking
So
other people won't feel insecure around you.
We
are all meant to shine.
As
children do.
We
were born to make manifest
The
glory of God that is within us.
It's
not just in some of us;
It
is in everyone.
And
as we let our own light shine,
We
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As
we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence
automatically liberates others.
 These words were written to honor a man who lived
through tremendous challenges and rose to be the President of
his country and an example for us all.Each of us, you especially,
has this power within us... we need simply let it out and shine
to dispel the darkness that at times surrounds us.
Until next month,
Shine on!
Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey
Heart
to Heart - How to lead and inspire!
"To be a
leader means willingness to risk - and a willingness to love. Has
the leader given you something from the heart?" Hubert H.
Humphrey
 My friends and readers I have yet to meet, it
is my privilege to share with you some of what I am learning
about leadership and to share what is on my heart.
(As I edit this our American neighbors are doing their advanced
voting. By this time Wed. our American neighbors
will have selected their leaders for the next 4 years. I trust
they will have chosen wisely with consideration of what is right.)By this time tomorrow several
thousand people, many of them young people, will attempt suicide.
Too many by far will succeed. Too many will die of alcoholism
or drug related causes, confront their first mental collapse,
suffer a heart attack or stroke from excess stress, or be pried
needlessly from their mangled vehicles.
This, too, is a part of our
legacy.
Why? Many of them are already
'dead' and just looking for a way to make it permanent. They have
lost hope and drift helplessly, leaderless through
life.
Thousands of our fellow citizens
are confined to self-constructed prisons of pity, despair, and
defeat - dungeons of self-depreciation - not realizing that THEY
alone hold the key to their own freedom.
In 1988, when my first marriage
and then my business went south, I took up residence there myself,
for a short while. But though I am occasionally temped to visit,
like I was following the death of my parents in 1999, or following
the aftermath of 9 -11, or the crash of 2008, I don't
venture or live there anymore.
Somehow along the way, our
friends and fellow citizens have lost their way, lost their desire
for a better life, and saw their dreams destroyed as they watched
helplessly. Maybe you are experiencing this challenge in your
life?
Abused, they no longer laugh,
play, or enjoy life.They've stopped fighting, surrendered their
self-esteem, bankrupted their potential, and have given up. They've
resigned themselves to a life of mediocrity and desperation. Does
this sound familiar?
WE CANNOT LEAVE
THEM DYING BY INCHES!
Many years ago, I grew to
realize that any real inspiration, any real
leadership, must come from the heart. It is only effective when it
is received and embraced by another heart - that is heart to
heart.
Like life, inspiration and
leadership are precious! Like water on a burning desert, it is
sprinkled on dry souls, to moisten parched lips unable to speak, to
free a unique voice; to experience,first hand, the miracle of
resurrecting oneself from a living death.
If we were sitting in Starbucks,
Second Cup,Tim Horton's or some other coffee shop we could
undoubtedly share for hours about the abuses, afflictions,
hardships, or challenges we face. Perhaps we would share some of the
successes as well. I would, however, like to draw your attention to
a much more devastating abuse, a common denominator to our deadly
despair - emotional abuse.
How many of us have encountered
the 'Dream Killers'? Those sometimes well-meaning
people, who judge us or try to kill our dreams; our futures by
criticizing us - for our own good? Some of them are called
relatives! Some are in positions of authority, who, as the experts,
tell us why it won't work. They chip away at our self-esteem and
would extinguish our pilot light of hope - to see us shackled into
conforming, mediocre lives of defeat.
How, then, can we defend
ourselves against this emotional abuse, especially from those we
love and trust?
Let's explore how we can take a
'real leadership role' in this battle for the mind and soul of our
country and to 'leading by example' to inspire
those around us.
We live in one of the world's
greatest places, (North America) and yet our 'ship of state'
flounders in seas of red ink, tossed about, its citizens abused,
abandoned, and driven slowly onto the rocks of depression and
destruction. North Americans are losing hope. They are tired of
uninspired officials, who do not lead, who have no vision
and who tend to pander to us rather than telling us the truth.
REAL
LEADERSHIP is about compassion, conviction, and
courage...
...compassion drawn deep from a caring heart, fortified
with conviction of purpose. It is established
by the courage to lead, stand 'alone', if necessary, in the
achievement of a worthy cause, or in battling an injustice.
Isn't real leadership about finding the courage to follow your
own dreams, often in spite of the challenges you face in seeking
them?
Many of us suffer hurts, a psychic
wound that saps our spirit and hinders our
leadership potential so we are just living our day-to-day lives.
That is a part of life. How well we live is related to how well
we deal with these hurts. As individuals, these hurts, when
unresolved, impact and impede our personal and positional
leadership.
If I could, I would cup each face
gently with my two hands, as my mom used to do, look deep into your
eyes, your soul, and gently speak to that hurt.
Physically, I am not able to do
that. Some of you reading this will be across the country or on a
different continent.
I ask myself,
"Can I 'learn' to
control, to continue taking responsibility and leadership in my own
personal battles?" Perhaps, in that, to give
some inspiration to those I encounter along the way. (That was my
personal challenge, as shared in this speech, in 1992.) That is
still a worthy challenge for me this year and the next
too!
What I am attempting to say, what
I am attempting to learn is, "We don't have to have it
all together to lead or to inspire." Leaders do not
have to be perfect to be productive or effective.
We begin to do so when we begin
to care! Inspirational leadership can be as simple as a word of
encouragement shared in passing, in openly sharing one's struggles
and lessons, or in being honest enough to admit our personal
neediness and in being willing to ask for help.
I have been repeatedly inspired
by my fellow professional speakers, my amazing wife Irene, and
fellow Toastmasters to place my hurts aside, to give each audience
my best, my all, each time I speak. There were times I arrived at
the place I was to speak, figuratively dragging my butt. I
remembered and acted on their advice!
Together we can take personal
leadership in this crusade to end and abolish this emotional abuse,
banish forever the dark tyranny of our soul. Let's begin
today! Leadership begins with you! It begins with
me!
Never again will we allow the
needless sacrifice of our individual dreams for the 'common good.'
Never again see our potential bowing, prostrate before a monument to
mediocrity. My friends, the prison doors are
open, they were never locked. I challenge you to alter your
attitudes, to purge the poisons of pessimism from your minds, and to
dare to dream again.
Capture for the moment, if you
will, your permanent
dream. Hold it clearly in your mind's
eye, burn it again deeply into the fabric of your soul. Can
you see it? Can you see yourself achieving it? I
can!
Are you willing to share it, to
live it, to champion its cause? I dare you to lead, to dream, and to
inspire those who watch you hoping for a glimpse that they, too, can
follow your lead.
To sum up my thoughts:
When we realize the truth about
ourselves and our dreams, then, we begin to see the truth around us.
When we speak in defense of the truth, then, we begin to really lead
in this fight for human dignity.
 When we open our hearts, then, we
begin to truly inspire and lead those around us. Canada needs your
leadership! North America needs your leadership. I need
you!
I challenge you to join me in
leading this leadership crusade. I invite you to make this personal
leadership commitment, right where you are sitting now. Let us serve
notice that we are willing to dream, to lead, and to forge our lives
into real 'heart to heart' inspiration.
I dare
you!
This article is part of 'A Legacy of Leadership' and was
adapted from a speech originally given by Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey
on Jan.14th,1992. I have just started editing it
enroute to converting it from an e-book to a print version by
the end of this year.
Last Minute News Had a great time sharing some ideas with the
first timers at the recent D42 Toastmasters conference in Edmonton.
It was my privilege to give back and to encourage them as they
launched their Toastmasters journey. Wow, hard to believe it
has been over 21 years since I began mine.
I was able to get down to CAPS Calgary
last month. Again, a great time re-connecting with friends and
colleagues.
Nov. 10th: I am
looking forward to my friends Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski
as our guest speakers. This will be my last CAPS Edmonton meeting
as Chapter president. Looking forward to helping
Lorn Stanners as he takes on the role for 2013. Also looking
forward to more time to invest in working on my own business
and in finishing some overdue writing projects.
Nov. 14th: My NSA
friend Randy Gage is flying to Calgary in support of our mutual
friend Shawne Duperon and her Project Forgive.
Dec. 1-6th: I
will be in Winnipeg for our annual CAPS National
convention. Haven't missed one yet. Trust this one will be
a bit less stressful. As you may remember I was honored as
the 2011 Spirit of
CAPS recipient last
year. That was quite the surprise - never saw that coming.
I am looking
forward to meeting some of our new members and to reconnecting with
speaker friends and colleagues from across Canada and the
globe.
With my duties
winding down on both the CAPS Edmonton and CAPS
Foundation, I am looking forward to catching up on some overdo
writing. I am committed to revamping my 'A Legacy of
Leadership' enroute to converting it from an ebook
to a print edition. In addition, I intend to have the 6th in
our Pocket Wisdom series done before Christmas.
Thanks for
reading  Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey would be pleased
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