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Live in AWE of yourself and others Acceptance (of things as they truly Are) Within (a qualifier that assumes genuine desire) Expectationi. (the one expectation is a desire to improve individually) of Self (take the time to know yourself) and Others (immerse yourself in loving relationships/organizations) with Mutual (build a team by sharing openly and honestly) Enthusiasm (Honor and be Inspired by your collective efforts) Are you Living in AWESOME life? Are you in AWE of yourself and others? Here are the principles of Living in AWE: Acceptance Within Expectation I had a pretty serious argument with a friend recently. I mean it was ugly! I'll give you some details later, but what I really want to tell you now is that within the ugliness of this argument, there also was beauty; because we love one another and I believe that only good things and growth can come out of an argument. I believe you can choose to be happy anywhere and always or nowhere and never. I also believe you can argue with anyone, anywhere and always, etc... but that an argument with someone you truly love and care about can end badly nowhere and never. I realize that's a tough one to swallow but if we are to live an AWESOME life we must recognize the working definitions or the meaning of some of the words we are using. In an AWESOME life when you argue with someone you love you are arguing with yourself. Even better, you are arguing with yourself but with a perspective greater than yourself. You are arguing with someone willing to hurt you to help you. Like when you're working out and going for that extra sit-up or that last quarter of a mile; you will hurt in the moment but benefit in the long run and it will be AWESOME! I am asked all the time what "Get Out of Bed and Go to Work!" stands for and I have a hard time answering. As you know, I have been working on my "Elevator Pitch" where I have twenty-seconds (between floors) to tell someone what I do as a speaker. I came up with the "EnterTrain the masses as I speak to individuals in the presence of large groups." Admittedly, this needs work but the point is; I am funny and "EnterTraining" but more importantly: There is an underlying message of self-love, self-assessment and ACCEPTANCE of SELF and OTHERS you love and rely upon in everything that I do and say and IT IS AWESOME! So here is my argument: A man I love, respect and admire (www.DrewBrown.net) was challenging my views and approach on something. He was trying to tell me something I simply did not want to hear. He kept telling me to "put the oars in the boat." Finally, I yelled, "I don't know what that means! How do you do that? I guess I'll just drink a beer, eat a jelly donut and go back to bed since I can't do any rowing today!" His response..."Okay retardo-Mantalban (a pet name; he's much taller than me and likes to hear me say..."the plane, Boss, the plane!-- if you're too young to know what that means, see: When Generations Collide...) "you go back to bed and leave the navigating to me... or someone other than yourself." When Drew says these things to me I know he is talking about someone much higher than him or me, but that's a conversation for another time. Frankly, this kind of "direction" frustrated me even further. How am I going to get where I want to go without rowing or even steering the boat? Finally, he shared with me the operational manual of how to put your oars in the boat. He said, "You simply do the next best indicated thing and you accept the outcome without question." "I can do that!" I said.
And I have learned to surround myself with people I love, admire and
trust-- to share with them my dreams and EXPECTATIONS. The only allowable EXPECTATION in an A.W.E.S.O.M.E. life is the individual desire
to improve. |
