Hi Friend
I’m on a plane flying home this morning. It’s been an exceptionally extraordinary week. I’m feeling incredibly grateful. There are so many people I like being around. Some of them even like being around me. Is there anything more you could want in life? I got to speak at both the OKHR and LASHRM conferences. I have sooooooo many friends at both.
I really like speaking. I have so much fun and believe deeply that the things I’m saying can transform lives. My friend Dena gave me one of the biggest compliments when she was describing me to her daughter. She said “Greg is one of those speakers who says things that make you go ‘hmmmmm’ and really think.” #Goals
Sometimes when I’m flooded with gratitude, as I am now, I feel very emotional. Weirdly, literally, sitting on this airplane my eyes are watering just thinking about ALL the people I encountered this week who are so lovely to me. These genuinely special encounters with other humans fuels my soul.
There is no doubt I’m an extrovert. I draw so much juju being amongst people. In these settings my soul is almost ravenous in devouring the energy, goodness and joy from others (though it doesn’t diminish theirs). Many from the conferences signed up to receive this letter. You may be one of those I absorbed soul juice from. Thanks!
POWER
In both conferences I spoke about being empowered through confidence. The folks in OK offered some really useful advice on making it better for Louisiana. I incorporated several of their suggestions. What makes you feel powerful?
Resistance Persisted?
Reciprocated Thoughts?
Accomplishing Hard?
Realized Growth?
This journey of getting just a little better every day is not a natural inclination. You and I are offered, actually bombarded, with opportunities to remain the same. Left on our own, we can even devolve. Have you noticed it requires intentionality to live life purposefully? It’s powerful when we choose to be who we aspire to be!
PEOPLE
This week has magnified my need for people! I am so close to me, I regularly miss how my own thinking is lacking. In the executive session I did at OKHR, I asked the question “how do we generate a thought we’ve never had?” Exposure is one of the ways. However, if we reject what we hear, see, learn from others, that exposure won’t help us.
I wish I wasn’t attracted to my own ideas. I like the way I think. I know I think differently than you. I like that about me. However, as I regularly say… on our own we mostly generate mediocre to bad ideas. Without others beating them up and contributing to them, the best we can hope for is a less-than-average creation/solution. We NEED others for us to be our best! Who do you need to listen to this week? (Hint, someone whose words may bruise your ego).
Instigating Ideas…
1. Express gratitude to at least three people.
2. Define what makes you feel powerful and go there often.
3. Consider someone’s idea you’ve rejected previously. What if you embraced it?
4. Choose to continue to aspire.
Prior to this past week, I had my friends David and Erin (plus my team) critique and give suggestions for my message. After my presentation in Tulsa, my friend Jerrod, who had come just to see me, offered a thought about my opening. I incorporated it in Louisiana and it was much better (sorry OKHR). However, when I talked to Jerrod, after my Louisiana presentation, he was apologetic for making the suggestion.
CARE
He apologized because I didn’t directly ask him for feedback. He’s a speaker too, and in our business, people sometimes offer unsolicited advice. He did it because he cares about me and knows I always want to make myself better. I was incredibly grateful and told him his apology was ridiculous.
Love lubricates the delivery and receptivity of challenging ideas. It’s a useful filter to utilize when offering our opinions. Are we sharing it because we know our idea is better or is it because we deeply care for the person or outcome? Be careful to realize that sometimes what we offer isn’t better, it’s just different.
I hope this week the people in your life fill your soul with a refreshing gratitude that permeates your entire being. I also hope you contribute to someone you love in the most meaningful ways!