Nobility requires the right state of mind

Some people are naturally mentally alert, very intuitve, highly conscious of what they think, feel, sense, what their motives are, what they intend and what they want from you.
Not me.
I had to come to the right state of mind after 30 years of hard work.
30 Years ago, I felt like I was a walking automaton. I only know that in retrospect and with the contrast provided by training.
Here is an analogy. Imagine that you were committed to developing a stronger physical sense of well being. Stamina, strength, flexibility all would be on the top of your list of attributes that would be desirable.
Mental training is no different. To be mentally tough, resilient, flexible, creative and alert all require skills except for those blessed with natural talent.
The training process is well established in many parts of the globe.
Go to Asia and watch the rigor, effort and discipline that young children exert in music lessons, learning languages other than their own, studying their required courses and you see how starting at a very young age they are being taught the value of training the mind.

Here are four simple ways to get started if this should appeal to your sense of rightness.

1. Cut out distractions to your attention. Splitting your focus between cell phone, computer screen, friend's voice, telephone, your partner's requests for your attention, kids needs and your work is a great way to reduce your IQ and suboptimize your ability to excel. If you are on the phone be completely and absolutely on the phone with full undivided attention, if you are making love keep your mind on the sensations and the full experience of lovemaking, if you are listening to your kids then give them the gift of your attention-fully engaged.

2. Train your self to spend 5 minutes per day on doing some form of attention- enhancing activity. There are practices in eastern disciplines like "Mindfullness" training, Yoga, martial arts that are amenable to the western student and enjoyable to practice. Or, give yourself the gift of completely listening to your favorite music- dissolve into that Chopin etude or Eric Clapton guitar rift.

3. Find a trainer. It is way more easy to train with someone who is already skilled at mental training than to try to do it yourself. One way of doing that is to buy a good tape, CD or DVD from Sounds True Catalog that appeals to you from a solid, experienced teacher. Or read a book on the subject of meditation or Yoga or Peak Performance or any one of the 1000 subjects readily available to you in this age.

4. Apply the skills that you acquire everywhere. I have been deeply impressed by the emphasis that mental training can have on personal relationships. For example, it is common for all of us to have conversations that are difficult to hear. Someone says something that we don't agree with or that hurts our feelings or that we just plain see differently.
If you learn to be patient and listen with all your focused awareness, you find that the conversations tend to go better and you often learn something you did not know.

I like your responses. Write to me at elad2@ix.netcom.com or go on my website www.noblepurposeconsulting.com

What do you do when dealing with ignoble people?

So big deal, you want to be noble. But the fact is that most of the world is functioning at a second grade level in terms of ethics and consciousness.
What is the implication for you?
I have found more than anytime in my life how true it is that you can find goodness and evil anywhere you look.
It is not the fact of the state of people's minds. It is what you do with their actions.
The Buddha said that all we own are our actions.
I suggest that the two things that we have under our influence is our motives and our actions.
So, it is not useful or skillful to look at what others do except to ask how would I respond that will make me feel whole, skilled and awake?
Several vignettes recently come to my mind. They all illustrate the fact that my part in the interaction was to have been imagining that they were rational or moral or conscious of their actions and the consequences.
None of that was true. Critize me for being naive. I have always had this problem believing people when they tell me something.
I guess I am one of those that PT Barnum spoke of when he said there was a sucker born every minute.
But I would rather be hopeful, caring and assuming the best of people rather than pessimistic and focusing on what is wrong with the human race.

I aspire to something better than the harm that people do to each other. This is part of my noble purpose- to stand for the view that we can all wake up and be our noble selves.

Elad

12 Questions to assess if you have a Noble Purpose

Dear reader,

I was thinking last week that many people have noble aspirations but don't know it.
I constructed a questionairre that can give you an idea of where you stand.

If you answer 3 out of twelve yes, you are a noble aspirant:

1. My company is "green","sustainable" or socially conscious.
2. I know that being good is not enough; we have to be profitable/viable.
3. I am committed to a higher purpose that is at the heart of my my business.
4. Innovation is critical to my business or service.
5. I want my team to aspire to something of value to the world.
6. I put my time and money into a business that has a higher purpose.
7. It is critical to my company to collaborate well.
8. My conscious dictates that I work in a socially conscious business.
9. I believe strongly that a business can be good and profitable.
10. I want my gifts and talents to be in service of a higher purpose.
11. My investors expect us to make a profit; treat all stakeholders collaboratively and have a global consciousness.
12. I am committed to making my noble aspiration a reality.

I invite you to write or call me to continue this conversation.
I would love to help you execute your vision.

Elad

Flow and Idealism

Counterpoint to my blog #6- I offer that anything I say I can change my mind if something new that is more accurate flows in. So, 20 minutes after posting #6 I am talking to my friend and she says- I think that perspiration and persistence are a very one-sided way of describing power- what about the power of intention, intuition, and the right thing showing up just because of your desire to create?

If I look at my direct experience over 40 plus years of work, I have dozens of moments when the right person, the right amount of money to pay the rent, the right next connection flowed to me due to what appears to be no sweat on my part.
Grace is a concept that I can say is real- there are many times when not because of my effort an opportunity presents itself just because of ? what? mystery, magic, life force... I really don't know why.

So, power is also not doing. It is very difficult for me as a Western European male from the US to get my head around the notion of Flow but it is apparent that it is as real as that which comes from effort.

Let me try to articulate how this works from my little pea brained perspective:
I feel that it starts with a strong positive emotion like love, compassion, a desire to serve and is followed by that longing to care and create growing in intensity through attention to it.
Then, people, events, situations show up that match the energy of your positive emotions and even when you feel negative and lose hope or energy for the idea you find a way back to it with strength.
Others join your intent with their good wishes or offers to help and the sense you have that this brain child of yours is beginning to pick up momentum. There is a feeling that energy is flowing towards the intent and you do not need to worry or make too much effort- it is coming of its own accord.
At some point I have experienced that the intent has a life of its own. I did not go out looking for allies when I started my first business but a highly accomplished adminstrative assistant who who could have made double what I could pay her voluntary took a 50% pay cut to be a part of the noble aspiration I had to transform business through education teaching the "Stress Theory" of Hans Selye. She and I would wait at the end of the month, for well over the first year asking each other- "so how is the rent and other payables going to get paid this month"- every time the right amount of money that we were waiting for would show up on time.
It got to be a joke between us about the incredibly mysterious way the receivables would come when it was needed.

Of course, I was owed the money and it had been my effort to make the money but the way it came on time each month showed how much was out of my control and required my relaxing my grip to let it arrive without my having a heart attack in addition to paying the bills.

Power, persistence and perspiraton

Blog entry #6

Power has become a word that is associated for many with evil. The images that come to mind are those conjured through the misuse not the noble use.
I offer the following: power is the energy of change and can be a force for decency, authenticity and love as well as heartache and suffering.

How is power important to Noble Purpose?
To cause something to occur in the mundane universe- the place of tangible outcomes; power is the medium. We are all forces for good or not but many of us are not conscious of that as our intent.
I propose to you that you consider your sources of power and work with them.
Sources of power:

Persistence- more gets done because of dedicated effort to an intention than is publicized. When you ask the creators of companies or services how they did what they did, often the work is a matter of dogged persistent effort on behalf of a noble idea.
You have to learn how to stick to something through the hardships of generating momentum or it will die of your lack of attention.
Case in point- when I started Keep it Simple Seminars in 1978, I worked 80-100 hrs a week doing everything that was required to launch the business- including licking thousands of envelopes and stamps, going out on the rubber chicken circuit- meaning that I would eat rubbery chicken lunches with groups like the Lion's club or Rotary to generate new business. It did not matter what it was, I just did it whether I was good at it or I disliked it- that is not the point when you are an entrepreneur- you do what is necessary and exert discipline on your self to get the noble aspiration out there.
Perspiration- sweat equity is what we all learn about when we are starting a venture we truly believe in- you will sweat the small stuff even though people will tell you not to and also the big hairy audacious aspirations- there is not any way to launch your vision with the power you have accrued without the two P's persistence and perspiration.
Maybe it does not sound very lofty but here is what is true for me lofty plus willingness to go to any lengths for what I have believed in is my formula for bringing my vision into being.

Is it really true that money follows bliss?

Blog entry #4

“Do what you love and the money will follow” Marsha Sinetar
“Follow your bliss” Joseph Campbell

Half -truths are deceiving. A half- truth is an assertion or declaration that on the face of it sounds good and right. However, something is missing. What is missing is the way that the assertion requires a modifier to make it real.
In the two quotes above, what is missing is a plan that you can execute that aligns with the strategy and vision that is what you love or is your bliss.

It may be more accurate to say- follow your bliss while planning a plan and following the plan. Do what you love and develop business skills that ground your inspiration in perspiration.

A vision without a way to take the abstraction of the hope or intention into concrete reality is a dream unfulfilled. There are many stories of wonderful, life affirming ideas and visions that never see the light of day. This is likely due to the lack of skill and knowledge about how a hope becomes real.

Too many leaders with noble aspirations do not know the first thing about the four cornerstones of business acumen:

Taking your vision and turn it into a viable strategic market success.
Developing the tools and skills of collaboration that are required for manifestation.
Building a high functioning team of contributors that maximize the gifts and talents of everyone engaged.
Designing the structures and systems at the onset that support the vision becoming real.

To feel called to do something noble is a great experience, but it is not so great to see it flounder. It is imperative to have the people, processes and plans in place so that the idea can grow and evolve with a foundation underneath it.

Too many intentions without the practical tools and skills evaporate into thin air. In the upcoming blog entries, I will explore further the requisite tools and skills that are part of the cornerstones of any successful noble aspiration becoming real.

Visit my website: http://elad.bizland.com

Lead from Wherever You Are

Wherever you are, you have power and influence. Just as in physics it is so that your presence alters the molecules and atoms of that which you are interacting with; it is also so that any situation is changed by what you bring to the conversation.

If you are not mindful of your impact then you have none. If you are conscious of what you are trying to bring and be then there is a chance of influencing an outcome.

What is the basis of individual influence?

• Awareness that you make a difference just by your presence.
  
• Knowledge that can be applied to any situation about those technical areas of competence that you are trained in and your interpersonal know-how that is just as valuable as technical skill.
• Hard won or natural competencies- these are skills that you are able to demonstrate.
• Your unique mix of talents and gifts.
• Your emotions
• Your intentions for the conversation.
• Two from the list that I can comment on now:

Emotions- Positive emotions are a bell weather to learning what is right and wholesome for you to engage in- they tell you when you are feeling connected to something that is good for you and conversely negative emotions are a tell tale to what is off or not as you want it to be. The contrast between what feels good and what feels bad for the wise person is the initiator of action to improve the situation.

Intention for the conversation-

To have a clear desired outcome in mind for any conversation improves your chances of moving the dialogue to something that is in line with your intentions. Preparing for interactions with a sense of what “you are up to” is a good way of leading form where you are.

Many of us think that position and power is what determines whether you are able to make something happen but in reality people impact from the position and role they are in most effectively when they believe they can and act as if that were true.

Lead with Courage

The word courage comes from the root word “couer” or heart in French. Heart is essential to leadership and having a heart is necessary to leadership that is imbued with compassion not just passion.

My key point is that you- like anyone who chooses to stand for something that is more than your own self- interest- requires kindness. Kindness is not maudlin nor feelings- run- wild. Kindness is an active state of care imbued by a concern for the best in each person. Kindness demonstrates recognition that people are capable and can be actors in their own life in contrast to being at the mercy or victims of whatever bedevils them.

We are noble beings who were born to be courageous in our lives and life work.

How does one develop courage if it is not in evidence today? A good place to start is with any conversation that you have been avoiding for the sake of fear.

Open your mouth; speak what is true to you. Resist the temptation to hold back for the thousand reasons that you already know. The truth is relative- it is yours and it has relevance to you because it is yours.

I cannot be true and brave without courage to speak the words that I hold back. I cannot find my nobility of purpose without braving the resistance and disagreement of others who have their own truth.

My saying what is true for me does not mean another person is persuaded to think or feel differently. It is simply a good, wholesome and healthy thing for me as I develop more heart.

A skill that helps in speaking your truth is preparation. Take 20 minutes to think through what you want to say. Ask yourself what is the essence of the most critical item that you want to insure is communicated and that you intend to have understood?

Conscious Action and Noble Purpose

What is the relationship between conscious action and noble purpose?

Why don’t we learn from our experiences?

Have you ever wondered why it is that history repeats? How could we as a country not recognize the signs of Viet Nam refrained in Iraq? How can people have alcoholic parents and witness horrible interpersonal behavior for years fueled by alcohol and then drink way too much making others and their life miserable?

Isn’t it just tragic that it takes so many generations to seemingly develop an ability to remember that hatred and greed only lead to more hatred and greed?

This entry explores the subject of learning and how it is possible to make best use of the brain’s plasticity to acquire new habits of heart and mind that can lead each of us individually towards noble intentions coupled with skillful actions.

To learn we have to be aware. If I am developing a new skill and only 10% of my attention is invested in learning and the rest is focused upon the future or the past day my ability to use what is going in is severely diminished. I am likely to have a fuller ability to make use of the tools, skills and knowledge if I am reflecting upon what I am hearing, seeing and sensing. Reflection and the tool of observation bring new ideas into the lens of objective observing. My observational skills can deepen, synthesize, and see patterns and themes while ingesting the ideas. In other words, my active participation in learning makes that which is being taken in something that is now partly mine.

I offer that there is a direct connection between the way we view learning and our ability to bring our highest self into our life. The best we are is consciousness-in-action. I define conscious as being an active, objective and observing self in your moment to moment experience. To be conscious is to engage with each interaction. To lead from a point of view of nobility self requires that we be conscious beings. All it takes to be a tiny bit more conscious is to consider as something is being felt, heard, and thought that there is an observer in you that also is looking on able to reflect on what it is experiencing. The moment of observation can turn this event into one in which insight is possible. Insight is to see into something with more depth. Leaders must bring insight into their lives to improve the quality of interaction and communication. Leaders turn the most mundane events and situations into a time of synthesis, insight, development and value.

We cannot learn from life experiences if we are not present at the time it is happening. If we are preoccupied by negative emotions: desire turned towards acquisition, trying to show up another person as less than we are or attempting to win at all costs then we are not looking into experience with observation, objectivity and compassion. We don’t benefit from what is being experienced. Noble leaders are conscious people who reflect upon their experience and look for meaning, value and opportunity to become a better person or to help another be happier and kinder.

Introduction: Meet Elad Levinson

Let me introduce myself, my name is Elad Levinson and I will be your provocateur and host on this blog.

My purpose is to offer a few ideas, preferably Big ideas that move your inner furniture a bit; share some tools and skills and speak to social and environmental concerns that I feel strongly about and maybe you do too.

I am a 40 plus year veteran of the work world with just as much time put into spiritual practices. I say this because my point of view about leadership is inseparable from my spiritual life. By spiritual I do not mean religious- I refer to a complex set of values, beliefs and experiences that are integrated into my world view. I am a practicing Buddhist but many times I have thought of myself as a Pantheist- one who celebrates all religions, spiritual paths, deities and philosophies. I continue to care very deeply about and am curious about how others experience their connection to something bigger than themselves- for many of us- work is a part of what is bigger. I am intensely interested in how people bring a noble purpose to their lives- as a parent, friend, employee, leader but for the sake of this blog, I will limit myself to a dialogue about the way work, spirituality and leadership interact.

Something highly paradoxical is occurring in the work domain- and the dichotomy is bidirectional- on one hand my observation is that work has never been less a source of nobility or high minded ideals and on the other there is a resurgence of deep commitment to values and ideals that are aspiration and perspiration. I see a growing tide of passion and intent to bring a whole person to work with a concomitant interest in desiring to see effort result in betterment of the condition of our world- both globally and locally.

There are trends that are contributing to this surge of right minded caring for us all. The urgent condition of global degradation, diminishing value of living in a manner that is unsustainable, baby boomers who are reinvesting in social activism, generations coming into the work world whose expectations are not to be indentured to corporations that demand soul deadness to work in them, feminine-oriented nurturing and connecting adding a spark of kindness and concern for others from men and women who embody these behaviors all contribute to the radical transformation of work as a way to survive into work as a way to bring your most noble aspirations.

In the pages and entries to follow, my desire and intent is to catalyze in you the intent to accelerate your commitment to be noble in small ways in every day life. The word needs nobility. Not nobility that is the “royals” version- more the noble way that is embodied in leaders like HH the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Helen Caldicott and the thousands that are bringing a higher ethic and morality to a globe in need of goodness.

Ideas of the week- lead from your experience; it is what you know. Someone needs exactly what you already have experienced. Every thing you have ever known, learned, felt, wondered about is part of your body of value that you bring into every conversation. You have the right stuff right now for someone. In AA, there is a notion that your experience, strength and hope is needed by others less far along the path as you. I assert that this is true in all situations in life- you are ready right now to lead from your strengths which are what you know, what you are good at even if it is a natural talent- not something that you have had to suffer to bring forth- you are ready to make that ability benefit others.