Happy Interdependence Day!

 

Independence Day! Fourth of July!  Words that conjure up visions of neighborhood barbecues, family reunions, hometown parades, afternoon concerts in the park, fireworks, and…you get the picture!  Great ways to celebrate!  Celebrate what?  Independence?  Yes. Historically, Fourth of July celebrations commemorate the anniversary of U.S. independence, but few of us really think about that as we enjoy the day and the long weekend.  Do you?

 

What I think about on this most important day is celebrating interdependence!  When we use the term “United States,” we usually think of a country bordered by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on the east and west and by Canada and Mexico on the north and south.  Geographically, that is correct.  However, what’s really most important about the United States is its internal makeup.  People!  People of diverse backgrounds and cultures that somehow accept each other, for the most part, and interact, combine their efforts, and become one nation.  

 

Do you remember the concept of the melting pot?  It was the idea that someday all of the different cultures represented in the U.S. would combine into one.  I refer to that idea in the past tense because I’m not sure anyone subscribes to it anymore.  Not too many years ago, another concept evolved using the illustration of the salad bowl.  The idea of the salad bowl is that it takes many different individual ingredients to make up a healthy dish.  Each of which is important to the whole.  You can have a salad without some of the ingredients, but it won’t taste the same, nor will it maintain its health value.  Such is the culture of the United States.  People who call themselves African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and the list goes on, each have their own individual histories, traditions, and cultures that, together, make us one people. We call ourselves, and each other, Americans.

 

There is nothing that any of us can do on a daily basis that isn’t somehow dependent on someone else to do their part.  What’s made the United States a great nation is that we’ve accepted each other’s differences and have built on them.  As Dr Stephen Covey said, “Unity is not sameness, it’s complementariness.”  He went on to challenge us to “celebrate the differences!”

 

As we celebrate Independence Day and the freedom that comes with it, consider that the greatest freedom is the opportunity to appreciate the many different contributions our neighbors and coworkers have made to helping us enjoy the life we lead. Be grateful for that.  We’re all different, but we’re all the same.  We’re free because of what we do for each other.  Think of this day, the Fourth of July, as Interdependence Day! 

 

 

Isn’t this a GREAT day to be an American?!

 

HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

Help Helps!

 

Years ago, I added Yoga to my daily startup routine. I enjoy it because it helps me get in the right frame of mind to start my day. It’s a form of meditation as well as stretching. I prepare my mind and my body for the day. Anyway, not too long ago, I decided to add a couple of minutes of meditation, which I’m not very good at, to begin each session. I do this via an audio recording of the Yoga Master Rodney Yee.  

    It's almost interesting that I found that although those additional two minutes of pure meditation, which are just a clip from the rest of the audio recording, are meant to help me relax and just be, before I do, it’s very difficult for me…until Sensei Lee starts talking and tells me to do what I was supposed to be doing without his guidance. Once he tells me to relax, I do so much more effectively. Help helps.

 

    I grew up in a culture where being “manly” was how I was supposed to behave. Serving in the military didn’t help that. Especially as a senior leader. I learned to “power through” whatever ailed me. I was a leader, by God, and leaders don’t let their followers see them sweat. (I even said that to some of my proteges.)

 

    There’s nothing wrong, and a lot RIGHT, with seeking help. Most of us aren’t so good that a little help might not help us empower ourselves to be even better. Sometimes we call those helpers accountability partners, sometimes we call them coaches. We even call them physicians and mental health providers. My best help, though, is my bride. She guides me a LOT! Except when we have to decide where to have lunch….

 

    I coach and mentor many folks. None of those relationships are formal. I just do it for them as needed and wanted. And, interestingly, they coach and mentor me in return. 

 

    Humans are relational beings. We need help to be our best selves. Unfortunately, there’s a stigma attached to seeking it. I’ll go out on a limb and say that it’s probably more difficult for men to seek help than women. Women are a lot smarter than men. That’s the truth!

 

    If you aspire to be a leader, especially an Effective Leader, you’re going to need help. None of us does it alone. Speaker and author, René Brown, talks a lot about vulnerability and its importance to our health. Effective Leaders are vulnerable. And their followers appreciate them for it.

 

    I’m going to continue to strive to reach enlightenment for a couple of minutes without Master Lee every morning. I’m not sure I’ll reach it. But I do know that I’ll come closer once I hear his voice. Help helps! Seek it when you need it. Unapologetically! We all need it. It will help you be a better you. And we need you to help us be us!

 

      Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

                     ¡HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

 

Real Success!

I hope you’ll make time to read a book by Viktor Frankl titled Man’s Search for Meaning. It will open your eyes to many things you hadn’t thought about before.

In the introduction, Frankl writes that “success must not be pursued, it must ensue.” The word, ensue, if you’re not familiar with it, means that it is a result of something. When we pursue, we set our sights on that thing, and if we’re “truly focused,” that’s what we’re engulfed in doing. When something ensues, it’s almost a serendipitous conclusion that’s based on behaviors and actions that affect others more deeply than the conclusion itself.

I’m going to go out on a limb and state that all of us want to succeed. The important questions are "At what? and “How?” I recently saw a poster that read “Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader…they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role - always about the goal.” I’m not sure who said it, but I think that’s what Frankl meant as well. The goal, or success, being making a difference.

Leading requires passion. Effective Leaders are passionate about helping others empower themselves to become who THEY can be, not what the “leader” wants them to be. Another great quote I recently came across says, “The first thing you should know about me is that I am not you. A lot more will make sense after that.” Again, an unknown author.

If your goal or your purpose, your measure of success, is how many people you’ve turned into you, or a semblance of you, that’s not success. Success in leading is when a person becomes who they were meant to be, and you, somehow, helped them become so.  

My life’s purpose is to help others achieve theirs. Not mine. I know that my purpose may not be everyone’s. It took me decades to figure that out. I encourage you to consider that even if you don’t agree with someone else’s purpose or mission in life, it’s okay. As My Brother, Dave Campanale, taught me, get over it!

Whether you’re leading at work or at home, figure out what your followers dream of becoming, respect them for it, and help them out as best you can. The world needs all of our successes, not just the ones we consider right.

Real success is making a difference. That difference is in helping others be themselves.

Be GREAT! You ARE!

HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!