Dreamers and Do-ers

In the past week or so, I've been privileged to be involved in two extraordinary gatherings that inspired people to imagine what is possible.

First, last week, more than 40 people from agencies and education and government in Manatee County came together at USF Sarasota-Manatee to join in the launch of an initiative representing a transformational dream for the 13th Street corridor in Bradenton, Florida. The leader of this initiative is Cynthia Newell, a powerful woman with joyful and unshakeable faith in the capacity for people to transcend anything, no matter what. She has a dream. But she's a do-er as much as a dreamer. And in two hours, educators, government officials, researchers, community members, service organization leaders, business people got involved, engaged and motivated to share the work of revitalizing a healthy, vibrant community in a declining neighborhood where, today, gangs rule, the unemployment rate is twice the national average, and many people -- not all -- have begun to lose hope for a bright tomorrow. C-4, she called the work: Collaborate, Connect, Create, Communicate.

As people talked and shared their hopes for re-awakening health and warmth and creativity and dignity all throughout that community, for keeping children safe to learn and challenging them to really envision their own potential and catch the fervor for moving towards it, for rebuilding and re-energizing the business heart that keeps the beat of progress, for bringing unlikely partners together to move toward a common goal, you could feel the warmth and love suffuse that room. We might became we can, as long as we work together.

Cynthia is a natural leader; she elicited the leadership in a room full of people ready to step together across the threshold of the unknown and envision greatness. They, in turn, will bring out the best in those with whom they work. And it will all start one soul at a time, as people realize their own resiliency and power and start to reinvent their lives.

And, yes, it will happen. It will because leaders like Cynthia and those who stand with her are filled with hope and passion and purpose and don't give in to their temporary self-doubts or insecurities. And it will happen because it is in the cards, a natural outcome for all people when they rediscover the source of their own wisdom and generate insights about their lives. I've seen the thrilling human dimension of the power to change so many times before, and it will be thrilling to see it and share in it here, in my home town.

Then, this week, I attended my first meeting as a Board member of Realize Bradenton, an organization that has been several years in the making with the intention to make the City of Bradenton a wonderful place to be, the kind of place you really want to spend time just walking around and taking it all in. So, not far at all from that 13th Street Corridor where Cynthia is making magic, Realize Bradenton is making magic, too. It's bringing artists, designers, musicians, planners, poets, landscape architects, builders -- more dreamers and do-ers -- together to make a nice town a great 21st-century community of friends and neighbors. Talk about imagining what's possible!  They're talking about a meandering, walkable waterfront, serene little parks where people can find quiet and watch the Manatee River roll by and listen to the gulls and the sighing breezes, places for children to play, places for dogs to play, places to stand back and enjoy public art, wonderful galleries and shops mingled with all the cultural and educational attractions already there.

Once more I found myself in a room full of people brimming with respect for each other's ideas and the courage to think about the unexpected, the as-yet-unrealized possibilities of a little city that people have come to love but take for granted, sort of like a quiet old aunt. It's nice, and it's there for you, but it's all to easy to wave and pass on by.

So much has already been realized by this organization yet in its infancy, and so much more will happen soon. I thought about the charming artistic geckos that adorn so much commercial wall space now in Bradenton, and how they've made boring blank spaces quirky and appealing, worthy of a second look and some conversation. They started in someone's artistic thinking, someone who thought, "Why not?" and created a phenomenon from nothing. That's the power of the human mind set free.

It's wonderful to see, in these times when it too often feels like human relations are strained to the breaking point and all we hear is name-calling and blame-calling, that ordinary people can come together with love and hope in their hearts and accomplish extraordinary things.

Wise mental energy policy

Consider the thinking process as our "consumer" of "mental energy." Although our mental energy is a renewable resource, and we can always tap into it without fear or running out, we have a finite number of hours in each day (month, year, lifetime) during which we can deliberately access it and use it for our own creative purposes, deciding how much of it to spend on what quality of thinking.We are confronted with the same hard choices about how to conserve and wisely use mental energy as we are with how to conserve and wisely use electrical energy.

As electricity flows into our homes, we make a series of decisions about how to use it. Turn off the lights when we leave a room, or not. Set the thermostat variably, depending on who is home and what is going on, or not. Buy energy efficient appliances as we replace things, or not. Turn off things we're not using or paying attention to, or not. The electricity is "there" and will keep on flowing, regardless of whether it's being wasted, put to foolish uses, misused, or conserved and put to wise use. It is a neutral force.

As mental energy flows through us, we also make a series of decisions about how to use it. Ruminate and worry about things over which we have no control, or not. Engage in negative upsetting emotions and discuss them with others at length, or not. Analyze problems until we're caught in a spiral of circular thinking, or not. Clear our heads and open our minds to fresh thoughts, or not. Our mental energy is always "there" and will keep flowing, regardless of whether it is being wasted, put to pointless uses, misused, or conserved and put to wise use. It, too, is a neutral force.

The most precious resource we have as human beings is our ability to think for ourselves and take our thinking more or less seriously, using our state of mind as a guide (just as we use our electric bill as a guide to how well we're doing at home). 

The question we face, each day, as individuals, is "What price are we willing to pay for dysfunctional uses of mental energy? Stress, and stress-related illnesses? Spreading ill will and bad feelings? Missing the moment?" We have a very effective feedback mechanism, just as reliable as our electric bill, that tells us when we are squandering our mental energy. It is always innocent; we all do it. The goal in life is to do it less, and to recognize more quickly when are doing it.

As we reflect on how we are using the energy of our lives to create our thinking and our perception of reality moment-to-moment, it becomes clearer and clearer that we are the authors of our own "mental energy policy." Where do we set the bar?

Case study in insecurity

It has been occurring to me as I watch coverage of the BP Executives in interviews that they represent a case study in insecurity. I'm curious what you think about that? In the reading materials provided for this workshop, I've got something called No Pain, Big Gains, which talks about corporate culture and the difference between the actions of an insecure company and one that operates with a high level of calm and security. In Dick Bozoian's readings, he's got an extensive chart in the piece called Leadership, Management and Organizational Effectiveness, which details the differences in behaviors and thinking between insecurity and confidence. I'd be curious, if you've read through these two essays, how you would interpret the BP response to this environmental disaster. Where do they fall on the scale? What would you do, if you were responsible for bringing them into the conversation in a more constructive way, to elevate the level of their participation?

When we start reflecting about security and insecurity, and the critical importance of state of mind, we see examples all around us of situations that would turn out much differently if the leaders involved could act from a sense of security and confidence and strength. I'm curious if you're noticing that, as well.

How we look at others

While updating a course I teach online for West Virginia University last week, I developed a new lecture called "Stance Towards Others". It relates to things we discussed at the first Workshop here. It really matters, as far as the outcome of our interactions, especially from a leadership perspective, how we "see" the health in ourselves and others. (Here's a link to the PowerPoints; unfortunately, I can't link you to the Camtasia lecture because it's embedded in a course only open to those who are registered for it.)

In all interactions, we have a certain "stance". Often, for people in leadership positions, it is superiority, or the insecure feeling of pressure to know the answers and thus be in charge. Depending on one's leadership style, that can manifest, in one-on-one dealings with others, as everything from commiseration to one-up, one-down guidance. When we don't truly understand the profound common ground on which we ALL stand, no matter what -- we are using the gifts of mind, thought and consciousness to create an experience and see it as real moment-to-moment-to-moment -- we lose our trust that we can actually relate to others on an equal footing and bring out the best in them. To the degree that we are insecure ourselves -- not sure that we can count on our own wisdom or quiet down enough to get in touch with an insight -- we tend to assert ourselves more or less, rather than listening and waiting for an insight to see what to do or say next.

The good news and the bad news for all of us is that we see it in ourselves before we can see it in others. That's the good news because as soon as we get the realization of our own strength and access to wisdom, it is easier to find peace and sustain hope and optimism and address life challenges with certainty. That's the bad news because we can't get there intellectually by "wishing" it so or repeating the "facts." It comes to each of us in a moment of insight, out of a quiet, peaceful feeling, from reflection. It comes to each of us in our own way and our own words. No one can force it or make us get it.

Blame or Accountability?

In the aftermath of negative events, it's becoming increasingly common for people to confuse blame with accountability. I've noticed it frequently in the "Keeping them Honest" segments of CNN's AC360, but I've come across it often in other settings, too. Terrible thing happens. Officials are interviewed. First question: "Who do you blame for this?" And then the feeding frenzy starts as people of different persuasions blame the past, blame government, blame X-corporation, blame other groups with different beliefs, blame the press ... The list of those who can be blamed is endless.

The problem is that "blame" is a dead-end street. It's a way for people under pressure to feel vindicated for things that have gone wrong. And blame is more and more used as a substitute for accountability. Now that I've "blamed" X, it's X's problem. Let X figure it out. And once X is blamed, X gets defensive and insecure and is psychologically inclined to do whatever X can to shift the blame to Y. And on and on. We end up in a downward spiral of negativity, defensiveness and bad feelings, with no possibility of a reach for common ground and innovation to address challenges.

When all of those who need to work together to be accountable are operating in that milieu of bad feelings and bad will, solutions are impossible. We're back to the schoolyard fights when the teacher comes into the middle of the fray and says, "All right, who started this?" He did. No, she did. No, I did not. They did. It's not my fault! Don't blame me, my father told me to fight back. ...

In the world defined by an understanding of the Three Principles and how State of Mind works, the operative question is not "Who do you blame for this?" or "Who started it?" The operative question is "How are we going to come together now to solve this?" The ideal is to sidestep the negative spiral, move towards understanding and good will, and unleash everyone's creativity and wisdom to address solutions -- to bring accountability into the present moment.

I've been playing around with what if scenarios for some of the current "blame game" problems we face locally and nationally. What occurs to you?