Humble

Some people!' snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the grocery store. 'You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line, 'said a woman.

I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it.

'It's one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job like everyone else,' said the man standing behind me. The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment. It was me,' he said, pointing to himself.

The young lady's face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the store. Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began running to her car. Never looking back, she got in and drove way.

After developing cancer in 1977 and having had to use food stamps; I had learned never to judge anyone, without knowing the circumstances of their life. This turned out to be the case today.

Several minutes later a young man walked into the store. He went up to the cashier and asked if she had seen the woman. After describing her, the cashier told him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and drove away.

'Why would she do that?' asked the man. Everyone in the line looked around at the fellow who had made the statement. 'I made a stupid comment about the welfare card she was using. Something I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry,' said the man.

'Well, that's bad, real bad, in fact. Her brother was killed in Afghanistan two years ago. He had three young children and she has taken on that responsibility. She's twenty years old, single, and now has three children to support,' he said in a very firm voice.

'I'm really truly sorry. I didn't know,' he replied, Shaking both his hands about.

The young man asked, 'Are these paid for?' pointing to the shopping cart full of groceries.

'It wouldn't take her card' the clerk told him.

'Do you know where she lives?' asked the man who had made the comment.

'Yes, she goes to our church.'

'Excuse me,' he said as he made his way to the front of the line. He pulled out his wallet, took out his credit card and told the cashier, 'Please use my card. PLEASE!' The clerk took his credit card and began to ring up the young woman's groceries.

Hold on,' said the gentleman. He walked back to his shopping cart and began loading his own groceries onto the belt to be included. 'Come on people. We got three kids to help raise!' he told everyone in line.

Everyone began to place their groceries onto the fast moving belt. A few customers began bagging the food and placing it into separate carts.. 'Go back and get two big turkeys,' yelled a heavyset woman, as she looked at the man.

'NO,' yelled the man. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. The entire store became quiet for several seconds. 'Four turkeys,' yelled the man. Everyone began laughing and went back to work.

When all was said and done, the man paid a total of $1,646.57 for the groceries. He then walked over to the side, pulled out his check book, and began writing a check. He turned around and handed the check to the young man.

The young man looked at the check and said, 'This is really very generous of you.'

'No, ' said the man. 'Her brother was the generous one.'

Everyone in the store had been observing the odd commotion and began to clap. A great example of why we should be kind and patient. Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

One Paragraph That Explains Life

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due
to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in l983.


He received letters from his fans the world over, one of which conveyed: "Why does

GOD have to select you for such a bad disease?"

To this Arthur Ashe replied:

"The world over -- 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000, learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?'.

And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?' "

Find a Mentor

Choose your mentors wisely. Mentoring is not counseling. It is guidance in the form of teaching and support provided by someone you trust, usually a teacher, a parent or relative, a supervisor, coach or a counselor. Attached is a list of characteristics we believe the best mentors possess:

Fair - in their assessments, judgements and expectation.

Enthusiastic - excited about helping you pursue your goals. Look for a mentor that is willing to share that excitement with you and help you stay on path.

Inspiring - always keep you moving forward and stretching your current state of limitations. Finding someone that inspires you and others will keep that focus.

Able to identify strengths and weaknesses - that can determine what your strengths are and also know how to offset some of your blindspots and weaknesses.

Able to stretch their mentees - a mentor should challenge you daily to be better than you were the day before.

Both demanding and supportive - always challenges you physically, mentally, spiritually, etc.

Straight forward and decisive - someone that you can have candid conversations with and don't have to 'pull punches' with during your one-on-one meetings and discussions.

Willing to express gratitude for a job well done - someone that supports your goals and objectives.

Willingness to share knowledge, insights and ideas - someone that can provide solid, documented success and insight.

Still learning themselves - find mentor that is continuing to learn more everyday. No one has it all figured out and a mentor should be someone that is continuing to sharpen their minds and experiences as much as you.

Open and accessible- Make sure your mentors can be easily accessible, especially early on in the relationship.

Appreciative of the opportunities they have been given - Find a mentor that is grateful for the mentors they have found along the way and appreciate of the things their life has brought to them through experiences. The happier they are, the happier you'll be!

Give me Lee anytime

After the rains come a little sunshine, and I’m not referring to the torrential downpours that have been hitting Singapore. After two years of depressing news, people here have at last some blessings to count, and perhaps feel a little proud of being Singaporeans.

They came as the economy improved enough to allow the government to rule out another recession, and the global tribute paid to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s achievements in the past 50 years.

Lee’s acclaim by the United States and the 10 Asean countries has raised the Republic’s morale and standing at a time when both are badly needed in the wake of its worst recession.The foreign recognition comes at a time when the Minister Mentor is losing popularity among young

Singaporeans who have a different set of values and little recollection of what he did in the past.However, Singapore’s founding father has shown he still retains the world’s admiration for his role in the contemporary history of Singapore and the region.

In Washington last week, he was accorded the first lifetime achievement award by the US-Asean Business Council – with tributes from the current US and two former presidents at the ceremony. President Barack Obama, who met him at the Oval Office and who will be in Singapore, said Lee was “one of the legendary figures of Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries... somebody who helped to trigger the Asian economic miracle.”

Among a list of high-powered figures who were present were Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who said: “All of us who have worked with him have benefited from his wisdom, his insight and his dedication.”

Henry Kissinger said: “I’ve known him for 40 years. I would say I’ve not learned as much from anybody as I have from Lee Kuan Yew.”

The accolade shows an appreciation of the man’s tremendous accomplishments, but he remains to the world as controversial as he is admired.Amidst the praises, his Law Minister K. Shanmugan was in another US city repeatedly defending against charges that the Singapore system that Lee had put up is undemocratic and lacks human rights and press freedom.

His “lifetime award” has also raised questions about whether this was his last hurrah, and if the 86-year-old leader intends to seek another five more years in office.“It is always risky to predict an imminent Lee retirement. He has a habit of proving it wrong,” said a local reporter. “However at 86, he is visibly slower. How long can he go on?”

The international buzz is adding to the national debate about what possible impacts his eventual exit will have on Singapore. Although he has distanced himself from the day-to-day running of the country, Lee is widely believed to hold significant influence over the Republic.The general feeling is that the country will continue to move ahead without Lee, but replacing his vast experience and his global stature is virtually impossible.

For years he shaped a foreign policy on China and the United States that enabled Singapore to avoid being crushed by their conflicting interests, but also served as a bridge between them. At times, it hit a sensitive nerve as it did last week when he urged the US to deepen its “indispensable” role in Asia as a counterweight to China’s emerging power.“

The size of China makes it impossible for the rest of Asia, including Japan and India, to match it in weight and capacity in about 20 to 30 years. So we need America to strike a balance,” Lee said.

Within hours, it drew strong reactions from thousands of Chinese bloggers, some accusing Lee of being used by the US to undermine China. One described Lee as “a political animal... (who) relies on China to develop his country’s economy, but is ushering wolves to deal with China.”

Another was reported to have said, “Just because he has achieved some success in Singapore, he dares to play the guiding light that shows US the way.”

Ironically, American liberals have accused Lee of more or less the same thing – setting Singapore up as an example for China on how it can have a predominant one-party democracy.

Lee’s successes abroad and the “feel good” factor for Singaporeans, especially the older people, were reflected by a blogger who said:“Without Lee Kuan Yew, we Singaporeans would not be respected especially when travelling overseas.

People associate Singapore with him, that’s for sure.”After a long 50 years, the People’s Action Party (PAP) is feeling the heat from a new generation of demanding, tech-savvy voters who frequently disagree with its policies.Aggravating the strains is the hardship brought about by the global crisis.

Much of the blame is levelled, fairly or unfairly, at Lee’s influence. Some foreigners have found the level of vehemence hard to understand given Singapore’s advanced state of progress.

During a dinner among regional journalists, one editor from a developing country asked me to explain why so many Singaporeans were so angry with the architect of their prosperity.“We’d be happy to swap our leader for Lee anytime,” he said.

It reflects how much society is changing.Lee recently said the evolving mindsets of the young and their response to the world’s changes will alter Singapore’s political landscape in future “and not because I won’t be around.”

Its Communication, Brother

One only has to look at the performances of Bill Clinton, Jack Welch, Ronald Regan and Barack Obama to see the key role that effective leadership communication has played in their successes.

Bill Clinton is widely regarded as the most effective communicator to ever enter the White House. His communication skills and in particular his charisma were regarded as central to his ability to consistently turn opponents into friends and to build strong alliances with world leaders.

President Barack Obama, described as the 'Communicator in Chief', connected with and inspired millions of Americans during his Presidential campaign. His performance as an orator and use of leadership body language is virtually unprecedented for a politician. Critically, Obama possesses a conversational and relaxed communication style that is critical when seeking to connect with people.

By way of contrast the recent lack of success by Caroline Kennedy and John McCain demonstrate the consequences of poor communication skills.

The Key Components of Effective Leadership Communication

• Develop the mindset of a leader - Given that our nonverbal communication reveals to the world what we feel inside, emotional mastery is critical to congruent, credible communication.

• Be able to connect with people on an emotional level - People form opinions and make decisions based on their emotions. First we listen to our emotional guidance system, then we justify with reasons, then we rationalize.

• Develop leadership charisma - Leader must always maintain authority whilst communicating charisma. Some individuals may have innate elements of charisma but much of charisma is made up of a set of behaviors that can be learned.

• Learn to move like a leader - Body language (postures, gestures and facial expression) communicates your emotional state to the world. We make our decisions primarily on what we see rather than what we hear.

7 Tips on Leadership

Exceptional leadership skills are needed in order to succeed in all business. The right leadership style is essential in order to reach your goals and a “well-honed leadership skills” are the most important component of being a success in the business world.

Adaptability - means reacting in an effective manner to shifting circumstances in your business environment. Everybody experiences adaptive challenges, but leaders are keen to resolve these issues with a carefully thought-out plan of action. If there is one trait that every business leader needs most in today’s business environment, it is adaptability.

People Skills - is about genuinely connecting with those you work with and who work for you. When you connect well with others, you develop a trusting, productive relationship that benefits everyone.

1: The ability to observe people in your business giving you the insight needed to take the appropriate action required for the right result.

2: The ability to communicate effectively to everyone – not just some people – in order to be productive.

3: The ability to motivate gives you the leadership edge to get the best out of those who work for you or with you.

4: And adaptability.

Self Awareness - Leaders who are aware of how they’re perceived by others or how they impact the behavior of others are more likely to succeed than those who aren’t self aware. Others can only judge us based on our behaviors, which can often lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication. If you are self-aware, people will see that you are making the effort to overcome your faults – a very important trait of a great leader.

Decisiveness - is an exercise in good judgment, affording well-informed, fast and sound decisions when needed from a leader, but it is not to be confused with inflexibility. Decisiveness is an important rule in leadership - the decisions you are willing to make will have a direct impact on how you’re accepted as a leader.

Purposefulness - Business needs a vision to set its direction and every successful leader can tune into that vision to achieve success. Leader must have the ability to own a strong sense of purpose and the ability to convey this purposefulness to your employees and coworkers. Purposefulness can be more powerful than a vision because it shares the ambition of growing your business with others. Understanding what the real purpose behind the vision is will inspire others.

Collaborative Skills - Technology has opened up new avenues for communicating and working in today’s work force. Today’s business environment benefits greatly from a culture of collaboration within your business and across all departments, both internally and externally (example of using the Internet makes this extremely easy to do at a very low cost).

Innovate And Execute - Another advantage of inculcating a culture of collaboration is the constant exchange of innovative ideas within your organization. To be a great leader, become the person that everyone approaches when they have a new idea or innovative approach to a problem. Leadership means understanding that you don’t have to come up with ideas yourself – you can also nurture growth and innovation in others that will benefit everyone.

Benevolent Dictators

Whether its recession time or boom time, small business owners should look at the way they operate in order to maximize their revenues. Many small businesses are run a little loosely; because many owners believe they lack the overhead and the staff to require a lot of strict policies and procedures.

That’s a mistake, according to Jim Muehlhausen, CPA and author of The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How To Avoid Them.

“Every business owner is enrolled in the world’s most expensive business school: The School of Hard Knocks. Instead of acquiring business knowledge the slow and expensive way, business owners need to capitalize on the hard-fought lessons of others. That’s why benevolent dictators are the best small business leaders, because ruling by committee against that landscape rarely works.”

Small Business face more challenges than the large corporations with huge cash reserves to help them through financial crises. They are more susceptible to market fluctuations, have fewer clients to support them and generally have more transient staff. On the flip side, they also make up 70 percent of the businesses in the U.S., so as goes small business, so goes the economy.

In order to swim with the big fish without getting eaten, small business owners get a little tougher and smarter to survive the nasty water.

There are several practices that are considered standard operating procedure that actually work against small business owners. First, many insist on learning hard lessons themselves rather than learn from the mistakes of their competitors.

To compound the problem, they also tend to hire employees away from their competitors without realizing that chances are that the employee may be leaving because they had been fired, or they are about to be fired. In essence, they wind up with their competitors’ rejects, who they wind up firing soon after.”

CEOs need to be benevolent dictators to be more effective. “Managing employees is a lot like parenting. Employees may not like what you do, but you’ll have to do it, anyway. Many CEOs are afraid to be authoritarian, but they should do it, anyway”.

They should remember two things – first, being authoritarian does not mean you can’t be nice, and second, it’s the CEO’s name on the big door. No one else will be blamed for the failure of staff. An autocrat is not automatically a jerk, and businesses aren’t a democracy. Hire good people, listen to input, but after you’ve listened, call the play and make sure you have a team on board who’s going to execute it.”