“Books may be the only true magic on earth.”  Alice Meecham

Studies show that few people continue to read and learn once
they stop their formal education. Studies also suggest, those who are life-long learners, live better,
earn more and have more excitement and satisfaction in their lives and
work.  There truly is magic within
the pages of great books.

What was the last good book you read?  Can you remember?  If not, it may be time for you to carve
out a little bit of time to reengage in reading.  There are great benefits to listening to audios, tremendous
impact from watching videos or DVDs and you can gain a great deal from
attending seminars and workshops – However, there is something unique and
magical about reading a book. Books can take you on amazing adventures of the mind to exotic places,
thrilling chases or inspiring thoughts.

If you aren’t sure where to begin your new pursuit of books
here are a few suggestions:  Read
fiction to develop your creativity, expand your own writing ability and improve
your visualization skills.  Read
non-fiction to think more strategically, improve specific skills and increase
your knowledge base.  Read
biographies of great people to learn what they had to overcome to achieve their
greatness.  Read histories to understand
cultures and the unique gifts of people.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to come back to
books.  A few minutes at a local
used bookstore can provide you with more than enough material for months and
years to come.

You don’t have to go it alone either.  If you need a little accountability or
want to bounce around ideas from what you are reading – form a mastermind group
or book club to make your reading even richer and enjoy the deep dialogue which
stems from such interaction.  Now
your mastermind group doesn’t need to be formal or overly structured.  You can do it virtually, you can do it
through a chat board or discussion group or you can even do it via a
teleconference or webinar.  Simple
is always best when it comes to mastermind or discussion groups.

Reading will change who you are and impact what you can
become.  Even just committing 15
minutes per day (which is just a little over 1% of your 24-hour day) can make
an incredible difference.  Emerson
said, “Great readers are what make great books great.”  Become a great reader – you will find
it is a great balancer in your EVE ratio (Entertainment vs Education) and will
put you in position to change the course of your life or business.

Start reading today! Returning to reading will influence every aspect of your life and open
up new worlds and extraordinary opportunities for you to explore.

Now a couple of important clarifiers as we begin our journey
to reverence.  It is a natural mistake
to think that reverence belongs to a religion.  This is simply not the case, I have experienced similar awe
and reverence in a Shinto shrine, a mighty cathedral, a Budhist temple and an old
wooden chapel.  Not only is
reverence not necessarily tied to a single religion, it can be equally
disconnected from any religion.  Reverence
has more to do with a dynamic power and a feeling of awe and gratitude within
individuals than anything else.  I
have experienced reverence on a mountainside in the Scottish highlands, looking
at a beautiful lake, hearing the angelic singing of my wife, reading the words
of poets, prophets and philosophers and on many occasions when I have simply
forced myself to sit still and block out the noisy world around me.

Why discuss reverence? Because in our fast-forward
world, we have forgotten what it means in
our individual lives and in society as a whole.  Because reverence
fosters leadership and education.  Most important, because reverence
kindles warmth in friendships and in community life.  And, because
without reverence, things fall apart.  The Greeks before Plato actually
saw
reverence as one of the bulwarks of their society. 

Author Jeff Woodward stated, “Without reverence, people do
not know how to respect each other or how to respect themselves.  Without reverence an army cannot tell
the difference between what it is and a gang of bandits.  Without reverence, we cannot explain
why we should treat the natural world with respect.  Without reverence a house is not a home, a boss is not a leader,
an instructor is not a teacher.  We
each must find the seeds of reverence, which may be hidden deep within us and
nurture and help them grow.  In our
technology driven society, reverence has fallen beneath the horizons of our
intellectual vision.”  We must
remember that reverence gives meaning to much of what we do day in and day out.

Without reverence, rituals are empty.  Reverence is the difference between
feeding time and family meal time, the difference between eating food and
dining with friends, between a staying at a kennel and living in a home.  Without the principle of reverence and
slowing down to feel awe, respect, gratitude and power – people simply exist as
they continue the meaningless chase of the rat race. 

It is absolutely true that people who are losing the
capacity to feel reverence, awe and gratitude are in danger of losing a great
deal more. It is also true that reverence is most obvious when it is missing,
and it is missing most often in people who are, or who think they are
exceptional above all others.

Unfortunately we live in a world that actually celebrates
the irreverent – as any perusal of a tabloid magazine or television program
will attest.  An irreverent soul is
arrogant and shameless, unable to feel awe in the face of things higher or
greater than self.  The irreverent
soul, orbiting in the center of his or her own universe, is so consumed with
themselves and how they can draw attention to themselves that they seek out the
lowest forms of behavior to shock society, disrespect others, and flaunt what
they’ve got and believe others cannot have. 

So how do we find and cultivate the virtue of reverence in
our daily lives?  Art speaks the
language of reverence better than philosophy does, and speaks it to the
reverence that is already within us. Paintings and photography, music and songs, sunrises and sunsets may
widen the sphere of majesties for which people can feel a sense of awe.  Once reverence is awakened – everything
becomes much more rich, more vibrant, more resilient and more alive. 

Now an application of reverence.  Reverence is a vital principle of leadership because it
promotes mutual respect between leader and follower.  Leaders generally find that respect based on reverence is
far more effective and reliable than motivation by fear or even love for
securing obedience and performance. 

Leaders cannot retain the respect of their
followers without
showing due respect and reverence to them in return.  The philosopher
Juvenal said,  “The greatest reverence is due the young and the old and
connects the generations and societies past, present and future.” 
Remember that reverence in leadership
calls for respect only when respect is really the right attitude.  You
see to pay respect to a tyrant
would not be reverent at all; it would actually be weak and cowardly. 
The most reverent response to a tyrant
is to ensure he is overthrown. John Locke observed, “He that will have
his son have respect for him and
his orders must have great reverence for his son.”

Reverence lies behind civility and all of the
graces that
make life not only bearable but wonderful.  So when was the last time
you felt reverence and awe?  Was it the birth of a child, standing
on a mountain top, watching your grandchildren, reading some beautiful
poetry,
observing a piece of art, going on a walk, looking at a photograph or
listening
to powerful music?  Have you found
reverence in leading, in following and in just being? 

Have you experienced recently something that left you in
awe, in that inarticulate state where words simply could not do justice to what
you saw, heard, thought or felt? You can find and experience the power of reverence everyday for it is
all around us, in meaningful rituals, in powerful moments, in simple pleasures.

Take time this weekend to explore reverence, find awe in it,
experience gratitude with it and become more because of it.  Remember reverence – a powerful
principle for our time. 

“Get happiness out of your work or you may never know what
happiness is.”  Elbert Hubbard

Your ability to get happiness out of your work becomes
easier the closer your work comes to connecting with your passions.  A job is something you do for money. A
career is something you do based on an inner desire and motivation. Even if you
aren’t in the “perfect” career at the moment, you can still get happiness out
of your work – if you are willing to passionately throw yourself, your talents
and skills into your work.

People who are paid exactly what they are worth (or more)
often find themselves replaced, declared obsolete or reengineered out of the
organization.  On the other hand, people
who are underpaid for the amount and
quality of the service they provide are always in highest demand – so money and
opportunity are always chasing them.

Keep the level of your yearning and learning, ahead of your
earning. Be inspired to learn as much as you can, to know as much as you can,
to gain skills as much as you can, to find a cause and a passion which benefits
humankind – and you’ll be sought after for your quality of service and your dedication
to excellence.

Your power, passion and motivation will make you oblivious
to quitting time and to the length of your workday. You will awake each and every
morning with the passion of pursuit, not just the pursuit of a paycheck and true
happiness will be a natural by-product of the passion you are putting into your
work.

Those who deliver more in service than they expect to receive
in compensation are always sought for and are always in demand.  Their name and their work outlive them,
and their services always command the highest price.  Therefore, you would be most wise to – chase your passion,
not your pension!

Bill Gates, who dropped out of college to found Microsoft
and become one of the wealthiest individuals in the world before reaching age
40, could retire with a lifestyle of the rich and famous. But he won’t. At a
computer industry meeting he told the audience that even though he could do
anything he wants, his greatest thrill is to go to work every day and find
exciting problems in search of solutions.

Everyone told the artist Renoir to give up painting because
he had no talent. A group of artists who were rejected by the establishment of
their time formed their own little team consisting of Degas, Pissarro, Monet,
Cezanne, and Renoir – five of the all-time great masters, doing what they
believed in, pursuing their passions while the critics laughed and mocked. One
Parisian expert looked over Renoir’s paintings and sneered: “You are, I
presume, dabbling in paint to amuse yourself.” To which Renoir rapidly and
passionately replied: “Of course! When it ceases to amuse me, I will stop painting.”

In Renoir’s later life he suffered from advanced rheumatism,
particularly in his hands. When Matisse stopped by to see the aging painter, he
noticed that every brush stroke caused Renoir great pain. And Matisse asked:
“Why is it that you still work? Why do you continue to push yourself?” Renoir
slowly answered: “The pain passes, but the pleasure, the creation of beauty,
remains.”

Remember – by putting your passion first, you will be able
to enjoy happiness today and create a legacy which will truly last. 

People are so busy living life… They don’t take time to
build one.

People are so busy living with their spouse… they don’t take
time to build a marriage.

People are so busy living with their children… They don’t
take time to build an individual.

People are so busy with their job or work… They don’t take
time to build a career, a business, a fortune or a future! – Denis Waitley

How busy are you? Are you so busy that you aren’t building?  Whether it is being busy in life, with children or loved
ones, with your job or business – being too busy often prevents you from
building the things that matter most.

Strategically building is a discipline all top achievers and
peak performers possess.  Far too
many are too busy.  Think of how
many people you interact with each day who make statements about being too
busy.  How often do you find
yourself using the “too busy” type of statements?  If you are using them regularly, it is a huge red flag
warning and you must begin to discipline yourself to slow down and plan how you
will begin to strategically build.

What is your plan for building the life you truly want?  What strategies will you deploy today
to build a better marriage, relationship or friendship?  What are you doing to build the
individuals you wish to impact like your children, colleagues or
employees?  What action will you
take today to build your business or career in a meaningful way?

Life is about choices – you can choose to be busy or you can
choose to build the extraordinary – it is up to you.  What you choose to do will determine your destiny and help
you to not only go beyond being busy and getting by – it will enable you to
build a meaningful life and legacy and enable you to go beyond success to
significance.

Perception is Reality! You must always be certain that the message you send is indeed the message
received by those you communicate with.

Here is a little humorous story which illustrates the
message sent vs. message received model: A man was driving home after a
long and hectic day at work.  He was tired and stressed and
frustrated with the heavy traffic. Finally he got off the freeway and
was nearing his home.  As he turned down a side street
suddenly he saw a women in a fancy car swerving into his lane coming
right for
him.  She honked her horn squealed her
tires and swerved, just missing the front end of the man’s car.  As she
sped past she yelled at the man
“Pig!”  The man was furious.  How could she be screaming that at him
when it was obvious that she was at fault.  That was the proverbial
straw and the man leaned out his
window, shook his fist at the women, called her every name in the book,
then
turned around to re-focus on the road ahead just as he… ran over the
pig!

Someone once said that words do not convey meaning they
simply call them forth.  In other
words, I speak to you out of the context of my experience and you listen out of
the context of yours and this is what makes communication so difficult.

How often have you walked away from a conversation feeling
that everything has gone well only to discover later that the other person had
a completely different idea of what was discussed or decided?  You also have an additional challenge
to communication today’s world because you are dealing with a myriad of forms
of communication from voice-mail to e-mail, texting to teleconferences, video
conference and even in person. Each form of communication creates a slightly
different perspective or emphasis on the subject.

When people communicate most of them communicate in the way
that makes the most sense to them. They think it through, analyze it and then present it to the other
person in that way.  The great
communicators, however, learn to communicate in the way that will make the most
sense to the person they are talking to. This requires some additional thought but the results can be
phenomenal. 

For instance, you need to communicate with Jack in the Human
resource department about the upcoming staff meeting.  You know from your experience with Jack that he is a real
visionary, right-brain, free-flowing kind of person.  If you take Jack on a long drawn out, step by step analysis
of your points you will lose him in the first minute.  Or maybe you need to discuss the company goals and
projections for fourth quarter with Mary from accounting.  Your experience tells you that Mary is
a get-to-the-bottom-line, no-nonsense, critical, analytical thinker.  Don’t communicate with a lot of hype,
emotion or visuals.  Instead, give
her an executive summary in advance, hand her an outline or agenda as you begin
and help her see a process and the benefits of your points. 

It doesn’t take too much practice to find out how people
process information and then simply adapt to their particular style.  This doesn’t require that you change
your opinion!  It only requires
that you change the way you present it.

By learning to be adaptable you can ensure that in any
situation, whether at home or at work, the message you send will be the message
the other person receives.