An Eight Point Plan of Decontamination

There's A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem

 By:  Wayne W. Dyer

When you feel that your family, social, and work environments are poisoned in any way by the negativity and slowed down energy of others, you can do something about it.  The following represents a blueprint for a broader environmental energy field permanently free of contamination.  The eight points long attributed by many to Mother Teresa of Calcutta are actually a version of “The Paradoxical Commandments” written by Kent M. Keith while he was a sophomore at Harvard University in the 1960s.

An Eight-Point Plan of Decontamination

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway. Forgiveness in your heart is like a cleansing agent for your energy field.  When you notice the low energy conduct of others, rather than allowing

it to impact and infect your immediate surroundings, send them a silent blessing and refuse to be seduced into joining them in their low energy.  When you forgive them you choose to not be impacted in a negative manner.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.  Your field of energy is protected from contamination by kindness.  Once you are independent of the accusations of others, you are unable to be angry and

hurt over what others accuse you of.  Be kind because it is you, not because of the reactions you want from others.  Kindness that comes from your heart will suffice to keep you from being dragged down into an energy field infected by

false accusations.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway.  The world is filled with people who are looking for occasions to be offended.  Your success at anything is enough to trigger such a reaction in others.  Keep your energy field pristine by focusing on what you know to be your divine purpose, and by doing so, the universe will support and sustain you with what is labeled success.  Others will be offended, but if you persist in ignoring their reactions, you will not allow the presence of false friends or true enemies to be a factor in your life.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.  Be honest and frank anyway. Your energy field will remain uncontaminated as long as you know that you are being honest and frank.  This may attract others at the lower energies of dishonesty and cheating to try to take advantage of you.  But you will not become their victim because you will have the sense of inner peace that characterizes higher and faster spiritual energy.  Those who attempt to cheat

you will respect and honor your position when you stay true to your spiritual values.  Behave toward others from your highest self and you will eventually be free of the fear of being cheated.  Ironically, when that fear disappears, the

problem of being cheated also disappears.

What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight.  Build anyway. Do not build anything only for the purpose of having it completed.  Build because

it is your way of expressing your purpose.  When you eat a banana the goal is not to finish it, but to enjoy each bite while nourishing yourself.  Building something is a means of expressing yourself.  If someone took all the books I’ve

published and destroyed them, I would continue to write.  If every tape recording of my lectures was destroyed, I would continue to speak.  Everything in the material world that is built will ultimately be destroyed.  Build not in fear of having it destroyed, but because you are giving expression to the

infinite spirit within.

If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.  I always remind myself that there is no way to happiness.  Happiness is the way. If you seek the reactions of others as the basis of your way of being then you

have turned the source of your happiness over to those whose reactions you covet.  Happiness is an inside job.  You don’t get it from anyone or anything; you bring it to everyone and every event of your life.  Keep your energy field free of contamination by remembering that you are the source of the cleansing. Others may be jealous, find fault with you, and say terrible things about you, but you are free to choose happiness for yourself anyway.  The by-product of your response is that you gradually impact their jealous and mean-spirited

energy fields with your radiating happiness.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.  Do good anyway.  Like being happy, doing good is something that you do as an expression of your invisible spiritual essence.  Stop looking for the approval and gratitude of

others as your reason to do good.  Even if no one ever says thank you, do for others as your heart dictates from spirit, which is rooted in the faster energy of love, kindness, and connectedness to all.  Your spirit urges you to express

heart energy.  Ego, rooted in the material world, urges you to do what you do so that you will be remembered and rewarded as if life were a contest.  Listen to your spirit.  Remind yourself to give love and do good because that is who you

are, and for no other reasons.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.  Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.  “The best,” as used above, implies your highest, most sacred self.  This is the fastest vibrational energy and the source of all problem resolution.  Others may attempt to contaminate your energy field by demanding more of you, or by criticizing you repeatedly, or even by ignoring your efforts.  When you return to your highest self, you are independent of those opinions almost instantly, and problems of feeling unappreciated are

nonexistent.  Give the world your spirit, and detach from the outcome of your efforts, and your energy field becomes less and less contaminated.

Leadership = Collaboration

"Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved."

Mattie Stepanek 

American Poet (July 17, 1990 - June 22, 2004)

Leadership = collaboration.  That may sound like an oxymoron, but the truth is great leaders understand the power of unity.  A leader may have the vision, but it is the team that sees the dream to completion.  In order to do this, the leader needs to put aside his/her ego and let the ideas fly.  As Mattie eloquently states, "wonderful things can be achieved." 


 Here are some points to consider:


1.  Communicate your vision and expectations effectively and clearly to your team members.  Make sure everyone is on the same page before embarking on the task at hand.


2.  Encourage others to communicate and express their ideas freely by providing an open and safe environment to do so.  This will encourage creativity without the fear of being criticized.


3.  Sharpen you listening skills.  The most effective leaders are willing to hear a different point of view.


4. Be willing to compromise.  When working with a team it is impossible for everyone to get their way. That's why is important for you, the leader, to set the example.


5.  Always focus on the goal or well being of the project.  This will help diffuse egos and keep your team focused on the task at hand.


6.  Identify Challenges head on.  Whether that be a personality conflict or an obstacle that needs to be overcome, avoidance of the issue will only morph into a larger problem in the future.  Lay it all out on the table and ask the group or persons involved in the conflict for ideas or solutions to overcoming the problem. Then ask them to map out a strategy collectively for success.   


7.  Heap praise on your team for success.  However, be prepared to take the criticism when something goes wrong.  


There is something very rewarding about working together towards a common goal.  I think that is why so many people relate to athletic teams.  Collaboration sparks creativity because it builds upon each other's strengths.   Together - anything is possible!

“Give whatever you are doing and whoever you are with 

the gift of your attention.”  

Jim Rohn

Leadership Notes - Part 4

31.     Being open and attentive is more effective than being judgmental.  This is because people naturally tend to be good and truthful when they are being received in a good and truthful manner.

32.     The leader cannot be seduced by offers or threats.  Money, love, or fame-whatever gained or lost-do not sway the leader from center.

33.     The fewer rules the better.  Rules reduce freedom and responsibility.  Enforcement of rules is coercive and manipulative, which diminishes spontaneity and absorbs group energy.

34.     The more coercive you are, the more resistant the group will become.  Your manipulations will only breed evasions.  Every law creates an outlaw.

35.     Good leadership consists of motivating people to their highest levels by offering them opportunities not obligations.

36.     Knowing that you do not know everything is far wiser than thinking you know a lot when you really don’t.

37.     The wise leader models spiritual behavior and lives in harmony with spiritual values.

38.     The wise leader knows that yielding overcome resistances, and gentleness melts rigid defenses.

39.     A leader must endure a great deal of abuse.  If the leader were not like water, the leader would break.  The ability to be soft makes the leader a leader.  This is another paradox; what is soft is strong.

Interfere as little as possible.  

40.    Interference, however brilliant, creates a dependence on the leader.

Servant Leadership

"Leadership comes in small acts as well as bold strokes"

Carly Fiorina

Not only do leaders need to have vision and courage, but one characteristic often overlooked is the ability to serve others. One of Coach John Wooden's favorite books is entitled The Servant by  James Hunter. It is the story of John Daily, a businessman whose outwardly successful life is spiraling out of control.  He is failing miserably in each of his leadership roles as boss, husband, father and coach.  To get his life back on track, he reluctantly attends a weeklong leadership retreat at a remote Benedictine monastery. To his surprise, the monk leading the seminar is a former business executive and Wall Street legend.  Taking John under his wing, the monk guides him to the realization that is simple and yet profound: the true foundation of leadership is not power, but authority which is built on relationships, love, service, sacrifice and truly caring for those around you.  

Think about the people in your life that have had profound influence on your life and career.  Chances are they are people that have loved you and have truly cared about you as person first.  Their main objective is to find ways to help you succeed. 

The formula is simple, once they succeed everything falls into place around you.  The art of leadership is not to get your employees to think more of you, but rather to get them to think more of themselves.

Leadership - Part 3

21.     Leaders should always aim high, going after things that will make a difference rather than seeking the safe path of mediocrity.

22.     The leader teaches by example rather than by lecturing others on how they ought to be.

23.     By being selfless, the leader enhances self.

24.     When leaders become superstars, the teacher outshines the teaching.

25.     The leader does not take all the credit for what happens and has no need for fame.  A moderate ego demonstrates wisdom

26.     If you measure success in terms of praise and criticism your anxiety will be endless.

27.     To become more profound, give up your selfishness.  Let go of your efforts to be perfect or rich or secure or admired.  Such efforts only limit you.

28.     When I give up trying to impress the group, I become very impressive.  The less I make myself, the more I am.

29.     The flashy leader lacks stability.  Trying to rush matters gets you nowhere.  Trying to appear brilliant is not enlightened.  Insecure leaders try to promote themselves.  Impotent leaders capitalize on their position.  Too much force will backfire.  Constant interventions and instigations will not make a good group.  They will spoil a group.   Force will cost you the support of the members.

Thoughts on Leadership - Part 2

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”

John Kenneth Galbraith

11.     We must never build pyramids in our own honor.  We must not fall victim to pompous, self-serving practices.

12.     Beware of the treacherous person who pledges loyalty in public then spreads discontent in private. Make every effort to identify and remove them.  Leaders are often betrayed by those they trust most.

13.     Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself-you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinates.

14.     Worthy leaders accept full responsibility for all assignments-even those they have delegated to their subordinates.

15.     A wise leader expands his influence and ability to serve the company only through the art of delegation.

16.     Know that your most worthy efforts will be scorned by your peers, for it is they who suffer most when you excel.

17.     Regardless of the conditions under which a former leader departs, the new leader should neither encourage nor tolerate disrespectful talk of him.  Speaking ill will not change past events or serve to further understanding.  It will most certainly tarnish the stature of a new leader.

18.     As a leader who achieves greater success, the jealousy others feel for him intensifies.

19.     Good workers normally achieve what their leaders expect from them.

20.     Leaders should remember that hospitality, warmth, and courtesy will captivate even the most oppressive foe.

Thoughts on Leadership- Part 1

Over the years, I have read many books on Leadership.  Over the next few days, I will post some notes I have compiled from these readings.  John F. Kennedy once said, "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."  Simply, when you stop learning, you stop growing.

1.      No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it.

2.      Anyone who steps into the arena of leadership must be prepared to pay a price.  True leadership exacts a heavy toll on the whole person and the more effective the leadership, the higher the price!  The leader must soon face the fact that he will be the target of critical darts.  Unpleasant though it may sound, you haven’t really led until you have become familiar with the stinging barbs of the critic.  Good leaders must have the thick skin.

3.      Every leader must develop the ability to measure the value or worth of criticism.  He has to determine the source and the motive, and he has to listen with discernment.  Sometimes the best course of action is to respond to criticism and learn from it.  Other times, he must be completely ignored.

4.      It is impossible to lead anyone without facing opposition.

5.      It is essential to face opposition in prayer.

6.      Few people can live in the lap of luxury and maintain their spiritual, emotional, and moral equilibrium.  Sudden elevation often disturbs balance, which leads to pride and a sense of self-sufficiency and then, a fall.  It’s ironic, but more of us can hang tough through a demotion than through a promotion.

7.      The man who is impatient with weakness will be defective in his leadership.  The evidence of our strength lies not in streaking ahead but in a willingness to adapt our stride to the slower pace of our weaker brethren, while not forfeiting our lead.  If we run too far ahead, we lose our power to influence.

8.      No matter how strong a leader you are, you will experience times when the cutting remarks really hurt.

9.      You must be determined to apply massive common sense in solving complex problems.

10.     You must be willing to accept the simple fact that you have flaws and will need to work every day to become a better leader than you were yesterday.

CHANGE IS GOOD...YOU GO FIRST

By Mac Anderson

Something magical happens when we accept personal responsibility for our behavior and our results. But, it's not easy, because it's human nature to "pass the buck". I (Mac) know there have been times in my life when my business was struggling where I found myself blaming others, blaming the economy, blaming this, blaming that! But as I've gotten older (and a little wiser) when things go wrong in my business, or my life, I can always find the culprit...in the mirror. In every instance, it always comes back to choices I've made in my life that put me exactly where I am today. I have to say, that this one "tweak" in my attitude may sound like a little thing, but it has made a big difference in my life.

What does all this have to do with change? Plenty! As a manager, one of the most important things you can do in times of change is to get your people to understand how taking personal responsibility and recognizing problems as opportunities, will not only help the company, but will help them as individuals. In other words, sell the idea of...what's in it for them?

Authors B.J. Gallagher and Steve Ventura wrote a great little book about achieving success through personal accountability titled: Who Are "They" Anyway? I like their list showing how each individual in the company can benefit by adopting a "personal accountability attitude."

• You have more control over your destiny
• You become an active contributor rather than a passive observer
• Others look to you for leadership
• You gain the reputation as a problem solver
• You enhance your career opportunities
• You enjoy the satisfaction that comes from getting things done...the power of positive doing
• You experience less anger, frustration and helplessness - all leading to better physical health
• You realize a positive spillover effect into your personal life at home

Ten Ways to Not Waste Your Life

I received this from my son in law via a tweet from Tony Dungy. 

Posted By: Mark Merrill

10 Ways to Not Waste Your Life

Part of being a responsible adult means not wasting things, especially your life.  Here are 10 ways to not waste your life.  Hope you are challenged by this list!

1. Believe

Belief is the most powerful, positive life-changer in the arsenal. Believe that you are a valued person with something to contribute, and chances are you will. 

2. Know where you’re headed

Dr. Seuss said, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”  Setting and achieving goals is necessary for purposeful change.  Both short term, “I’m going to spend the evening with my child so he goes to sleep feeling loved.” and long-term, “By Christmas I’ll be able to tell my AA group and my family I’ve been sober for six-months.”

3. Identify a better reference point for success

Know that our standard for a successful life is found in serving others, being a great parent, loving our spouse. These standards are more conducive to satisfaction and success than “Beautiful, because I’m worth it”, or “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

4. Value relationships above all else

Value relationships above results. Value serving others above being served. Value investing in people above investing in things.

5. Remember where your joy and value comes from

A dependence on anything external for happiness is unnecessary: If we “need” others to make us happy, or if we need achievements to feel worthy, we undermine our reason for being.  The simple fact that we are loved and valued by the Creator is sufficient. Your joy comes from knowing who you are and whose you are.

6. Live in the moment

“I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something when _________ happens.” “Just let me get that new ________, and I’ll be good.” This kind of thinking ensures we’ll remain dependent on “more” for satisfaction. Live in the moment. Be grateful for what we have right now. Be content in our present circumstances.

7. Defer short-term thrills in favor of long-term rewards

We often sacrifice long-term joy, satisfaction and contentment for short-term thrills and personal pleasure. Things like sex outside of marriage, pornography, and gambling will never satisfy. What will satisfy is sex in a marital relationship, lasting and loving relationships, living a life of purpose, and hard work.

8. Always continue learning

Life-long learners adopt the ongoing posture of reinvention and redemption. Learners ask questions rather than act as if they know all the answers. It’s difficult to waste your life when you are humble and open to new ideas.

9. Don’t sweat the small stuff

Knowing what we value puts everything else into perspective. If we know what really matters in life, then we’re not as likely to get caught up in, or bothered by, things that don’t have a long-term or eternal impact.

10. Never do anything you wouldn’t be comfortable doing in the presence of your Maker

If in doubt about this, talk it over with God first.

Resiliency

Aron Ralston's Survivor Traits

First Appeared May 9, 2003, Page One, The Oregonian*

Survivors of tragedy who emerge stronger share a number of traits:

Aron Ralston is the 27 year-old, Colorado rock climber receiving national attention for the courage he showed when he saved his life by amputating his right arm to escape from under a bolder that fell on him. The front page story about Aron Ralston in The Oregonian, May 9, 2003, was accompanied by this interview with Dr. Al Siebert about traits of survivors:

Reason

Survivors focus on problem-solving their situation. They control their emotions. They set aside panic and think logically during a crisis, especially about the true nature of the crisis and realistic options for solving it.

Focus

Survivors are 100 percent present in the moment. Thinking too much about past experiences or future possibilities distracts from survival. Survivors can say, "I have to do this or I will die."

Humor

Survivors are usually more amused than angry about their predicament. Aron says: "I tried to chip away at the rock using a multitool knife. You know, the kind you get with a $15 flashlight and it's free, which is probably how I got it."

Integration

Survivors must be emotionally healthy enough to integrate their tragedy and its consequences into being one part their larger life story. People who focus solely on a past tragedy and make it the central part of their identity are still being governed by the crisis.

Positivity

After a tragedy you will never be the same again. Making lemonade from lemons is crucial after a crisis. The key challenge is, how can you make something positive of this? How can you come out of this a better person?