Toronto, May 5 2009, 11.OOam
Here’s Lipkin’s Paradox: The quieter the times, the louder you need to be. In quiet times, the majority of people go quiet. When demand is low, their morale is low. Crushing times crush people’s spirits. The work isn’t diminishing but people are being diminished by the work. Just look around you. Listen to the prevailing dialogue. You won’t hear the language of freedom and possibility. You’ll hear words of desperation, complaint and blame. So here’s our choice: follow the crowd into oblivion. Or lead them into opportunity. What are you doing? What better time than now? What better place than here? And what better person than you?
So what does it take to create your own mojo? How do you continuously conjure up your own magnetism to attract the best and the brightest to you? How do you build your resilience so you can take it to the next level when others are giving up or caving in? Those are the questions that inspire and torture me all the time. As the world’s self-appointed Chief-Motivator, I have to be up almost all the time. Every conversation, every call, every meeting, is an opportunity to create a WOW or succumb to same-old-same-old. It’s a conscious choice and it’s an acquired skill. But most of all, it’s the ultimate hallmark of Champions. It’s Resilience & Idealism beating Fatigue & Cynicism not just sometimes, every time.
Resilience and Idealism go together like white on rice. Resilience, rhymes with Brilliance, is defined as “the power to return to the original form after being bent or stretched; elasticity; buoyancy; ability to recover readily from illness or adversity”6. Idealism is simply the pursuit of one’s ideals, those things that inspire you to be your best. That’s when you’re playing from your “original form” – the way you’re designed to play. Idealism puts the buoyancy and elasticity in Resilience.
Without Idealism, you’re simply Cynical. You still carry on – because you have no choice, but you’re jaded and negative. You distrust the motives of others because you distrust your own motives. You disbelieve in generosity and extraordinary possibility. You’re tired of it all. You’ve given too much too often with no reciprocation or return. Now you’ve gone too far to come back again. It’s just too damn hard. And people are just too damn unreliable, unpredictable and self-centred anyway.
There’s no buoyancy or elasticity in Cynicism. It dries up the spirit and replaces it with Fatigue. Check it out: observe people who aren’t idealistic. See how much of an effort everything seems to be. Taste their bitterness as they reluctantly take on tasks that require great effort. It’s like gravity multiplies itself against them. They create their own resistance and then they complain about it. Their condition becomes chronic and they die a little more each day. Cynicism is fatal but it is treatable. It requires the discovery of a cause or the reconnection with an ideal that has the power to inspire the cynic into action.
That’s the Main Thing: to find the one thing that makes your life worthwhile.
Nelson Mandela declared his Main Thing in his statement from the dock at the opening of the defense case in the Rivonia Trial in Pretoria, South Africa on April 20 1964:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”
What’s the Ideal you live for? What’s The Main Thing that inspires and sustains your Resilience every day? In your own way, how are you living with the conviction of Nelson Mandela. I’ll tell you mine: I want to excite people into action. Through my stories and my insights, I want to light the fire within everyone I meet so they live their Ideal Lives. That’s the Ideal I live for. And that’s why I live in Toronto, Canada. It’s energy, openness, civility, tolerance, diversity, and resources make it the perfect space in which to spread my message. I’m in the right place at the right time doing the right thing to create the right results.
Here’s another reason why you want to be an Idealist: Idealism is one of the fastest growing trends tracked by the Environics Social Values Monitor. The pursuit of meaning, fulfillment and contribution is fashionable. And so is talking about it. It’s the theme of the decade. So get with it. The people who are thriving on the cusp of change are experiencing a new sense of drive and vitality, as well as a heightened sense of adaptability. With so much at stake, the new Champions are putting their stake in the ground. They are choosing to stand for something – their Main Thing.
Let’s wrap this up with Lipkin’s Five Ways To Sustain Your Resilience and Idealism:
1. Take the hits. Every day is an experience in extremes. The Highs are exquisite and the Lows are exquisitely painful. Every person goes through them. No-one escapes unscathed. How you handle each experience determines what kind of experience you have next. So savour the Highs, tolerate the Lows. Learn from both. And remember: whatever you’re going through is what you were destined to go through because that’s what you’re going through, so go through it.
2. In good times, prepare for bad. In bad times, prepare for good. This too shall pass. And it shall pass quickly. When times are good, be mindful. Harvest the learning and save the resources you’re creating. When times are bad, see things that others cannot see. Look in the right direction. Trust that you’ll find what you’re looking for. Keep The Faith. Stay The Course. Fight The Good Fight.
3. Be Idealistic. Find the Ideal that makes you great. Focus on the Main Thing that empowers you to live the life that’s right for you. Stand guard against Cynicism. Strengthen your buoyancy and elasticity by constantly re-minding yourself why your life is an extraordinary gift. Be great-full.
4. Declare your commitment loudly with your words and actions. In darker times, shine brighter. Voice your optimism. Do the things others are afraid to do. Say the things other are afraid to say. Step into the space of opportunity. Be bold, not stupid. Be swept away by your enthusiasm. Showcase your relish for the challenges at hand. If your style is quieter and low-key, then whisper your passion. And amplify it with action. Others are counting on you to go first.
5. Practice deliberately. Break through your awkwardness by doing the things you’ve never done before. At first, it will seem unfamiliar and difficult. The result may not be what you want. The temptation will be to refrain from trying it again. But you must – over and over until you achieve mastery. Switch off the automatic pilot. Practice with a heightened awareness of what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, what’s working and what’s not. It may never get easier, but you will get better. I believe easy is your wake-up call. If it’s too easy, it’s time to kick it up a notch.
nice topic and speech.