The book The Art of Power reminds us to constantly practice mindfulness; through it we radiate joy, stability and peace which in return helps open the door for you to speak with authority. It’s that self people become attracted to not because you lead through intimidation but authenticity.
What is mindfulness? It is the trait of staying aware. The energy to be here and to witness deeply in the present moment; you’re aware of what’s going on within and without.
Runners and daily long distance walkers are incredible people to study. Big, little, tiny thin and overweight individuals at the gym hoisting their frame into a push up or sit up position are locking onto the present and yet I’m deeply saddened by the large number that workout while listening to carefully hidden away IPods or watching the video screen connected to the stationary bike or Elliptical.
If your job has already clogged an extremely busy mind with unheard of amounts of sound when does listening to your body come into play? Compassion is the foundation of incredible leadership. If you choose not listen to yourself, how then do you expect people to listen to you?
I hear the masses shout it everyday, “I want success! I know I can do it! But the demands from upper management are exhausting the drive to succeed.”
During the creation of a mid-90’s Corporate America the many levels of business triumph were taken over by willingness not strength. One such group was real estate. Every neighborhood’s blessed with someone who sacrificed their career to chase down the idea of making the big home sale only to learn all those tests and classes cost them an extremely shiny penny while the state felt no guilt collecting from your dreams.
Big business including the government finds employment for the willing while those with strength are kept from leading.
Show me an individual that didn’t resent their parents at least once while growing up in teenage shoes and cultured fads. It’s not that Mom and Dad were evil beings from a distant planet; their power was abused. Arguments that break from the surface of ones thoughts out into a world of misunderstood circumstance are 100% unfair because in the end the parent with power is always right.
The workplace is no different. Ones willingness to grow doesn’t equal quality leadership. Visit YouTube or visit CBS.com and catch up on their Sunday night reality drama Corporate Boss. I find it to be the best comedy on television because it proves decision makers wearing overpriced suits and fancy hairstyles have no clue what’s taking place beneath them.
While on the web download the history of Lech Walesa; an electrician with little education whose passion for protecting coworkers led to a ground breaking movement that masterminded Solidarity. Arrested several times for raising his voice in protest even after his union had been made it illegal, the stronger man rose to the height of leadership when he was elected President of Poland. He put people first by living along side what they were experiencing.
Why isn’t there change on the soils that weigh down our feet? Fear, anger and confusion control our present and future making us only willing to walk toward the assumed horizon.
The Art of Power invites you to study the tales of those who lead, below the surface of plastic smiles and bigger than life demands connected to outrageous dreams is enormous amounts of suffering. What they have in power is multiplied by despair. But you’ll never learn of it because having the power is where the seeds of success tend to grow which keeps their true self hidden behind a mask meant to keep weakness from being seen.
Business leaders, stockbrokers and politicians seek financial gain which purchases them more power. Study the process of a true statewide election and see what happens when popularity doesn’t win the best candidate the position being sought. Millions are spent branding names into your common sense. Names that will be recognized through channels of memory the moment you step behind the curtain to punch the card or pull the lever.
We don’t need to tread on reservations created for broken promises and dreams. The challenge is to light the subjects and ideas that make you think. Nobody sits without complaint while watching a movie that’s out of focus on the big screen; those that get up to create conversation with management are leaders. In the end, their mindfulness helped to invite peace to a collected mass and not just self. Ultimately it’s up to management to walkie talkie the film room with a solid, “Please adjust the picture in number five.”
Having the power is a nifty cool trophy to hold…owning the power of calm enlightens the darkest corners. It’s the old remedy from your Grandmother’s weathered cupboards, “Choose your battles.” Once you strike out…expect to be struck back. Where’s the mindfulness in that?
A great way to begin your day is to fill your lungs with air then slowly release it while softly whispering, “Oh my happiness.” Do it three times. If we were living in the days of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, the goal would be to learn how to talk to the tiny squirrels that keep your legs moving forward and the chipmunks that deliver fresh blood from the heart to your fingertips.
In the real world you have a mind body and soul…just as much as you want to get, get, get from this single object of energy. Learn to listen to their need, need, needs. Practice mindfulness and learn to lead beyond the current fad of willingness. You’re overworked because you’re willing to do it. You’re under paid because you’re willing to work everyday including Sundays.
Is that really what your body is saying to you? Turn off the radio and TV and pay some attention to the trust master of living and breathing. The faceless, colorless, assumable non existent invisible self called me, myself and I has been trying to tell you for several years, "Wanna play?"
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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