What challenges must you overcome?

The only people that don't have challenges are dead. That doesn't apply since you are reading this post. Therefore, the tribe expects you to make the most of your passion for a positive impact. The combination of demons and temptations we face are as diverse as humanity; however, we can all relate. I could struggle with alcoholism and drugs, yours is perfectionism; mine is laziness, yours is a workaholic or some crazy mash-up. In all cases, the damage we can do to ourselves and those around us will leave a scar. Leaving good works left undone and our passion taken to the grave.

We need to push back against our natural tendency to roll back under the covers and say it is too hard to fight today. Give yourself a moment to recognize the internal talk or acknowledge the bodies weariness, then begin to fight back. When those we support are feeling off their game, we rally to their side and encourage them on, reminding them of previous victories. We sit on the edge of our seats with the adrenalin coursing through our veins holding our breath, waiting for just the right moment to yell "Rocky, get up!" Then we go ballistic as Rocky climbs from the bloody mat to eventually pummel his opponent; blow after blow, until it is done.

Trying to change the world is not an easy task, even for a good cause. The entrepreneur lifestyle has recently been glorified due to some notable successes coupled with the Silicon Valley payout of some start-ups. It will always be easier to push the play button on Netflix, but it doesn't mean this is how you must spend your time. We have the ability to reach around the globe, meet like-minded people and find the community that is looking for the same change we are pursuing.

We know the hard days are coming and will require reinforcements to bolster our strength with tactics and encouragement. Knowing opposition will come from the outside, will give the courage to address the other internal or environmental challenges that rise during the pursuit of your vision.

Invest in your community, be generous, be authentic and find those that will be in your corner to help you in the fight that looms ahead. If your passion, vision and desire are strong enough, then make it happen. The world is always changing, muscle your way in to paint it in your colors.

How do you energize those you are passionate about?

You don't have to be loud to encourage the crowd, but it helps. The political pundits talk about using strategies to rally the base for their particular candidate. Whether it is advertisements, rallies or fundraisers, there is a process for getting people fired up about a cause.

What is your strategy for getting your supporters, co-workers or customers excited about the passions you share? The tribe looks to the leader for vision and direction to keep the momentum going. Your enthusiasm for the product and the people will have a contagious impact on those around you.

What insights do you have about the idiosyncrasies of your community that allow you to know them better than they know themselves? This understanding supports knowing when the masses will bob and weave and let you be the DJ. 

What do you respect the most about your community? Since you chose these people as your own, part of the deal is to work like crazy to ensure success is achieved. Your appreciation and respect for the group you serve can inspire action and devotion as you share your pursuit of the mission.

Where do you see the tribe waning in their passion? Derek Sivers (@sivers on Twitter) gave a TED Talk about "how to start a movement" and describes the transformation of one crazy guy into a dancing movement all within 3 minutes. Leading is hard and requires massive effort to maintain the momentum necessary to accomplish anything great. How can you reinvigorate the community?

This is our opportunity to drive change, create something bigger than ourselves and inspire those around us. You must pursue your passions, and they matter; the tribe is waiting.

YouTube Link: How do you energize those you are passionate about?

What resources do you dedicate to your passion?

We claim that a noble charitable cause around the corner is important to us; a quick analysis of our calendar and bank statement will reveal if we mean it. This truth holds for time with the family or in the office. Time and money are sure indicators of what we hold important. Kids inherently know this truth. Fail to follow through on a promise and their eyes display the disappointment. Been there, done that and the t-shirt isn't worth it. 

Passions require the same care and feeding. Leave it alone for too long and it atrophies. A dynamic friend mentioned that in the world of social media, consistency means your serious about your work. The speed innovation and change challenges every aspect of life, we become irrelevant, left behind and return to being a familiar novice, if the investment stops. Neglect the weights and the muscles shrink quicker than your delusions of a new personal record.  

A true passion requires our time, attention and any resource at our disposal. The things we pursue are ours, the vision and effort must include our blood, sweat and tears. One trick is to ensure we are not lying to ourselves about our resource investment. There is a time for learning, but the hard work comes with producing, shipping and engaging with your customer.

Historically, I have been great at learning and slow to act due to fear or some other nonsense reason to postpone creation. It is in the movement of action that the magic happens. The client accepts the commissioned work, the app is released, the school board votes on your proposal only once the passionate work is pursued to completion. This exchange is the beauty of intentional action. Change happens, and the world is a better place.

Evaluate the resource investment you are applying to your passions and conduct a sober assessment. Are you getting the results of you desired? What changes need to be made? Do you believe the data? Your resources of time, attention, money and relationships are worth too much to squander. If inaction has been your default, start now. Not in the morning or when some distant event is supposed to occur, the same excuse or a close cousin will be present to bog you down. You will never have today again, now is the time for necessary changes and action. 

One more question then act on the answer; what is one action you are going to take right NOW to make progress on your passion?

YouTube Link: What resources do you dedicate to your passion?

What are your passions?

Family, the environment or merely world domination, the passions we pursue are what define our lives. Those with a life long vision can focus their attention on making the vision a reality over the long run. Others shift priorities and passions on a regular basis to experience the broad spectrum of what life offers. The remaining dare not to define their  passions or they have lost hope.

Abraham Lincoln met with extreme adversity and multiple defeats before achieving the U.S. Presidency. As providence would have it, he was just the right man to see us through the Civil War and end slavery. Those top our list of inspiring people all have many qualities and passion must be one of them. 

The key is the ability to identify your current passions clearly and recognize when they have changed. The world around us says, either follow you passion at all cost or choose the popular passions that are acceptable, but not too radical. Regardless of the category of your passion, own it, love it and pursue it. The world needs leaders that have a diversity of interests and are willing to invest their lives to ensure the future is even better than today.

Going Further: What is your 30-second elevator pitch about your passion? What inspired your passion? Are you giving your all to your passions and do any changes need to be made?

YouTube Link: What are your passions?

What has generosity taught you?

This one requires you to have a writing utensil, get one; I'll wait.....

Documenting our learning is a good thing. The process of putting pen to paper increases the chances of the information sticking longer. Taking a moment to consider all that a topic has taught, gives us the opportunity to poke around in the corners of our experiences and recognize how this influences our thinking and feelings.

Write down five things generosity has taught you? Since we are living life together, I will go first, and this will give you time to get a pen I mentioned above. 

- Empathy: This virtue allows me to try to see the world from another perspective and in some small way, enter it.
- Gratitude: My generosity has cultivated an appreciation for what I have and when I have experienced the generous acts of others the gratitude is further magnified.
- Humility: I have been on the receiving end of much generosity and each time I am reminded that I can't accomplish this life on my own.
- Boldness: I have become more willing to talk about my struggles and needs. Friends have responded with various kinds of generosity; taking the time to call to make a referral or help move a household. If I don't let anyone know I need help, then I don't get it until it has become an emergency or not at all. Additionally, I rob them of an opportunity to help and they later ask "why didn't your ask?" 
- Love: My wife has generously put up with my shenanigans for a long time and graciously continues to love me in spite of my weaknesses.

Now it is your turn. Don't cheat and just scroll away. You have made it this far, so you may as well get the benefit of the exercise. It will be worth the effort, I promise.

Going Further: What opportunity has generosity provided? What generosity lessons have you learned at home, school, work and play? What learning has been a surprise? What other question about generosity must be asked?

YouTube Link: What has generosity taught you?

What motivates you to generosity?

Generosity is a primary tenant of the world's religions, and the followers respond out of gratitude, directives or the hope of a better spot in heaven. The irreligious embrace the practice as a moral imperative to meet the needs of the suffering and a desire to combat the wrongs in the world. For others, the motivation may stem from the tax write-off, their name on the University building or their legacy.

The feelings that wash over you as you extend yourself to meet the needs of others can be rather intoxicating. The desire to regularly visit the prison, serve at the soup kitchen or pull together Christmas shoe boxes for overseas orphans provide direct feedback of help offered and received. Meeting new people, sharing life and knowing you have helped someone in need, delivers quite the endorphin rush.

Does sad music dubbed over video of the abused animals stir your heart and move your feet into action or is it another cause that has your attention? How about the media blitz that follows a natural disaster or a viral stunt like the ALS ice bucket challenge a couple of years ago? The Bible discusses giving in secret, not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Before I rap my gavel on the bench in judgment, I have found myself hoping just a little bit, which I would be found out, to earn a few pats on the back. What do you think about giving anonymously?

Those that have struggled on the hairy edge of survival can easily recount the generous occurrences of someone coming to their aid. I haven't been on the street, but my hairy edge experiences are enough to recall these memories of kindness that are consecrated in my mind for a lifetime. I have experienced the impact of the lower level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs not being met. I stay in fight or flight with sustained elevated cortisol levels that prevents my body from achieving rest and healing until these basic needs are met.

Going Further: How does your faith inform your generosity? How have your motives toward generosity changed? What characterizes your generosity? How do you like to be generous? What is a personal favorite story of generosity? How can you grow in this virtue?

YouTube link: What motivates you to generosity?

How are you generous to yourself?

Take a deep breath, pinch your nose and hold your breath, we are going deeper than just buying yourself a craft beer or a pedicure after a long week at the office. The pressure to be Mary Poppins and "perfect in every way," is tough to achieve. The things on our to-do list are legion. It's only proper to finish the MBA, ensure the beach body abs are rock solid, an empty email inbox, kids in the right sports with perfect A's while being respectful and cheerful. The house and lawn remain tidy and blue birds ride on your shoulder as you whistle you way home.

I live in the DC suburbs, and the area is full of movers and shakers seeking to make a difference. The air within the beltway is thick with the requirement to perform. Those that have moved away report the need to decompress and normalize, before appreciating the new hometown. Social media only fuels the fire. I post the beautiful pictures of things that are going well, and so do my friends. The stories of failure are seemingly deleted with a touch on the screen, but the expectations of a perfect life remain. 

Our complicated lives need care in all facets, and it is not limited to more time on the treadmill. Author and businesswoman, Arianna Huffington wrote a book on the importance of sleep following a physical collapse due to exhaustion. Prayer has been a longstanding practice to recenter life's priorities and calibrate worry. The practice of meditation has exploded over the last couple of years as proponents have realized a twofer, better health and increased productivity. Consumption of soft drinks and smoking continue a downward trend indicating many are making healthier choices. The collective we, are starting to pay attention to the whole person, making these topics more widely accepted to address publicly.

What does it look like for you? What are the systems you have in place to relieve daily stress? How do you prevent yourself from getting stuck in the quagmire of perfectionism? Who watches out for you, so you don't spiral into depression when things become too much? What is a concrete step you can take to be generous to you? These answers may include doing less and not adding other things to the list of must do's. You are important and we want you around a long time. The world wants your best and that is delivered through a health body, mind and spirit. Be generous to you.

YouTube Link: How are you generous to yourself?

Don't interfere with the struggle

Don't interfere with the struggle

The truth bomb exploded, sending fragments ricocheting through my brain. Pressure creates a diamond. Persistent irritation develops a pearl. The straining and healing process cause muscle growth. Growth comes at a cost. This succinct statement captures an important point for us supporting those going through the painful growth of becoming something greater.

A co-worker, Michelle Rivera, launched this truth out of nowhere as she tried to get others motivated to move. My mind flooded with memories of the many times I have tried to fix things that I had no business fixing. Life lessons and the scars of life develop us into people of strength and wisdom.

Encouragement and support as the runner prepares and races for the tape is appropriate. Coddling the athlete through training will leave them weak and unprepared.

Make sure you know the difference and provide care accordingly.

YouTube Link: Don't interfere with the struggle.

How is generosity expressed across cultures?

Two friends, one from Puerto Rico and the other from Portugal helped with anecdotal research on this inquiry. My entering assumption for the most common response to the inquiry was going to be food. David, from Puerto Rico, confirmed my assumption that an abundance of food was integral to his cultural. Food would be a major part of any celebration with a focus on the quantity available. No one goes home hungry.

During dinner, my friend from Portugal, Jose, agreed that food was a primary way to be generous in the country of his birth. The conversation turned to the second most common way the Portuguese are generous. He explained that his countrymen are quick to go out of the way to serve and offer assistance where it is needed. If you need a ride or some service, the default answer is to provide services until the job is done; getting you to your destination or completing a repair. For Jose, seeing someone down on their luck and in need of help will inspire offering something out of his grocery bag without thinking twice.

These conversations allowed excellent discussions and insight into these cultures from an angle I had not considered before and refreshed my appreciation for those lands beyond my immediate State borders. Asking this question allows the individual from another area to expound on the details of their heritage on a positive topic. In some cases, cultures are known for only one element of their history. Just as you and I have many different facets, cultures are not one one-dimensional nor one historical event. Get out there and engage with those around you; it's a brave new world, experience it!

Going Further: What has been your experience with generosity from other parts of the world? How has this shaped your view of the people? How have you encountered cultural generosity in unexpected ways? What culture are you interested in experiencing?

YouTube Link: How is generosity expressed across cultures?

Who taught you to be generous?

I would often be the last one waiting for a ride home from Granite Mountain Junior High. Eventually, the Ford truck with the burgundy stripe would pull up and my dad, grinning from ear-to-ear would apologize for running behind and then explain why he was running late. More often than not, it would involve helping someone in some capacity. Helping a customer with a flat tire, negotiating a driver to pick up another little old lady at the airport or bringing a smile to someone's face. The list was endless, frustrating and difficult to justify feelings of bitterness.

The first place I learned to be generous was at home. Cash was not plentiful, but generosity through service, work and positive encouragement was in abundance. This early example set the tone for my default when I think of being generous. Fixing a toilet, moving a household and coordinating party logistics were my recent opportunities to give.

How you apply the abundance in your life to care for those around you are just as diverse as our fingerprints. Your biography includes a history of spending your time, talents and resources to make the world a better place. How did your early examples influence your current perspective? No doubt, there are particular people and acts of giving that flood your mind, and you can see the roots of these examples sprouting in your life today. What are some of those stories? 

We may never live up to some of these early examples and may fall woefully short at other times. A missed opportunity I will always remember, was during an evening walk in Lisbon Portugal in 2000. A severely disfigured man shook his donation cup for some coins, and I never slowed my stride as I passed. Today, I would like to think; I would respond differently to the gentleman.

The good news is that you are being watched and are busy teaching the next generation how to exemplify generosity. The young child watches his father, and the aggressive intern that wants to run the company is watching how the CEO displays her generosity. Giving is a skill worth honing to make the world a better place and even if you're not concerned about the world out there; you never know what the future holds and you may need to be on the receiving end.

Going Further: What is that distinct memory of generosity that came to mind earlier in the posting? How did this event shape you? Have you ever shared the impact of this experience with the person who exemplified generosity for you? Who do you know is watching your example of generosity?

How are you generous to your teachers?

Darrell Brooks sang, with his red guitar, tucked in the corner of the sandwich shop during the lunchtime rush. The steady flow of lunch customers bustled past him in their return to the office. Every once in a while, a dollar or two would drop into his tip bowl. Darrell continued to sing a string of great covers, regardless of what fell in the bowl.

I usually seek to negotiate the best price that I can for my latest purchase. I ask for the greatest discount or scouring the web for a coupon code to knock the price lower and may have even burned a CD or two over the years. Amanda Palmer's book, The Art of Asking, challenged me regarding compensating artists for delivery of their daring work.

As I watched Mr. Brooks and heard him sing, I learned something from across the room. Truly appreciating the artist, drove my desire to compensate Mr. Brooks in exchange for his creative efforts. This singer, with the red guitar, delivered the beauty of a well-covered song to a lunchtime crowd and taught me a lesson that was long overdue. The artist earns the generosity of fans by shipping creative work.

With extreme gratitude, I emptied the contents of my pockets for the schooling. $13.65 for a life lesson is an excellent deal. Ms. Palmer prepared me to hear the lesson and today; Mr. Brooks was my soulful teacher.

We have arrived at today through the tireless efforts of a host of others that have taught us about life. Some teachers were good and others poor, but lessons were learned either way. Taking the opportunity to extend generosity to those that initiated the virtue, can take many forms and is well worth the effort. These teachers are not expecting you, and your news is the best kind of surprise.

Thank-you Mr. Brooks.

Going Further: How have you been generous to those that have invested in you? Who is still waiting? What has been the outcome of expressing generous gratitude previously? What other questions come to mind regarding your teachers?

What does it mean to be generous?

Even the mention of the word raises a feeling of condemnation with thoughts of not doing enough. That word is generosity. Guilt rises at the sight of the war veteran standing at the red light with a hand-scrawled, cardboard sign that says "will work for food, need your help, and God Bless." You want to look, acknowledge his humanity and make a connection, but doing so, demands I dig for my wallet and sacrifice. I would like to believe that I could give myself entirely to this virtue, but I reason that I have a family to feed and bills to pay. This topic is hard and worth spending the time to consider.

We are each on the sliding scale of generosity, somewhere between the pre-Christmas morning Scrooge and the Biblical widow that gave her last two very small copper coins. Depending on our sense of abundance; we can slide back and forth on the scale over the course of our lives. I don't come with judgment, but questions to help discover what generosity means to us, those around us and how we have experienced this virtuous gift.

My tendency is a desire to know a fixed quantity. I want to know if I am measuring up and can wear the generous merit badge before I accept the moniker. What is the metric I must achieve? I scream to the heavens; what does generosity look like in the 21st century?

Thankfully, we get an inkling of the metric when others extend a generous hand our way. This act takes the form of holding our hand while waiting in the emergency room, giving an amazing discount on the plumbing bill, taking the longer route home to drop off the kids while the car is in the shop or a cup of fresh water on a hot day. As much as the "man bites dog" media conveys there is only bad news outside our front door, we have each experienced the generosity of those around us.

A step towards defining generosity is to become acutely aware of its presence around us. Intentionally looking for the generous act becomes a game and it will show up in the most unexpected places and take on many forms. Watch for it over the next week and marvel at the abundance, regardless of reciprocation. 

How do you define generosity? What feelings well up when you hear the word generous? How do you contend with saying "no" to opportunities for generosity? How do you find yourself trying to "measure up" when it comes to generosity? How did you last receive the generosity from another? 

What leadership nugget did you collect this week?

"I hate learning with Stars". I knew it was a nugget the moment I heard it and wrote it down. My C-Suite is made up of Admirals and Generals that wear stars, vice the standard C-Suite acronyms. After a meeting between our respective executive leaders, a very sharp co-worker provided this nugget. New information was learned during the meeting and he hated that this news wasn't discovered earlier. This nugget reinforced his commitment to ensuring everything was provided to the boss prior to the meeting and there are no surprises. This commitment to excellence to ensure the boss is fully prepped was a great lesson and the nugget was just what I needed to anchor the learning.

The combination of living life, curiosity and intentional learning opportunities provide a veritable smorgasbord to become better tomorrow than we are today. Awareness of the opportunity to learn from everyone primes our "spidey senses" to collect these nuggets of wisdom wherever they are discovered. These nuggets may come from books, podcasts, formal mentoring discussions or seemingly random sources throughout the day. My mind is more like a steel sieve than a steel trap and I have to document the nuggets as they come or they are gone for eternity.

Hearing a nugget is different than collecting a nugget. I hear much throughout the day but collect only what is important. Collections are made up of those items that we have attributed value and cherish. We regularly admire the beauty, truth, nuance and craftsmanship of our cherished find because it brings much joy. Collections are most appreciated when employed and provided for public display. The beauty of a Stradivarius is fully appreciated when a bow is drawn across the strings, not locked away in a safety deposit box. Just as the leadership nuggets you have collected are not fit for a shelved notebook. The combination of your talents, experience and insight coupled with your collection of nuggets must be applied for the wellbeing of the individuals within your organization. There will never be another you and the world needs your best.

Going Further: What learning opportunity did you miss? How do you collect your leadership nuggets? What are your regular sources for collecting nuggets? How can you position yourself to apply more elements of what you have learned? How are you most encouraged about the growth you have encountered? What are the names of 5 people you lead and how has your leadership influenced them?

What is your process to find the right fit?

The electronic stack of resumes arrive in the inbox ready for your perusal and is generally best paired with an adult beverage. After fighting upper management to defend the budget and fund your new hire; the tough slog of finding the right match ensues. TaskRabbit founder, Leah Busque, stated "hiring's tough. The difficult thing is the nagging feeling that, despite your best efforts, the perfect candidate will somehow fall through the cracks."

The replacement cost is targeted between 16-20% of the annual salary and is a pricey endeavor in time and resources. After all the work, there is still the chance that after a couple of months you find your hiring system and gut instinct was wrong and the new hire isn't the right match. Having been on both sides of the interview, asking the right questions to ensure there is alignment between the hopeful new hire and the prospective company is critical.

If you have been in the game any amount of time, you have refined your skill at determining the best candidate for the position. I am now far more at peace arriving at an interview with a boatload of questions to ensure expectations are understood than when I wore a younger man's clothes. The hiring decision is an opportunity to propel or disrupt the entire team. Beyond finding capable hands to accomplish the work, you are influencing the organizational culture with each new personality. Your current team and customers are counting on you to use your process to correctly discern who to offer a handshake and offer letter; choose wisely.

How much does your gut instinct play a role in hiring a candidate? What are the key "tells" that a candidate is the right or wrong fit? Who were your best/worst hires and what lessons did you learn that you now apply? How has your process changed? What innovative and creative processes do you use to really know the candidate? What are your hiring blind spots that may allow the wrong person to be hired?

How do you empower your team?

Sergeant Major Alford McMichael was the most senior enlisted Marine from 1999 to 2003, serving as the fourteenth Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. In his book, Leadership, he writes, "one of the most fundamental aspects of effective leadership is leveraging power by distributing it among your people". The necessity to teach and train your people to take initiative is on your shoulders as a leader. You will restrict your growth potential if every decision must be cleared through one choke point.

Your hiring process includes finding the best and the brightest to help execute the vision and mission of the organization. If top talent is brought onboard and not given the chance to exercise their capabilities then everyone loses. A lever is a powerful tool that can move mountains and properly enabled your team can achieve the impossible. Giving the authority to make decisions and impact the end user at the lowest level places the lever in the hands that can influence the greatest change. This freedom provides the quickest response to the customer and a sense of ownership for those working the process.

No doubt, you have experienced the micro-managing organization at some point in your life and encountered the stifling effects that ripple through the organization. Controlling all elements of the activity feels safe, but is safe really the goal if it hamstrings the organization for fear of something going wrong? The reality is that things will go wrong, the difference is the strong army of dedicated and empowered people that are invested and want the achieve the vision vs, the cogs punching the clock because of a lack of ownership. Vibrant health or a safe death, the choice is in your hands.

Going Further: What do you think and feel about relinquishing control and driving authority deeper into the team? When have you seen it work well? How has this process failed and why did it fail? How do you evaluate the effectiveness of empowering your team? Who is someone you can enlist to help enact needed changes? What is one element of authority you can empower a team member this week?