There are three things that you
can do to dial in your search for wisdom:
read, take wise counsel, and serve others.
Seeking Words of Wisdom
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| If it is good for children, then why don't adults do it more? |
Where do you seek wisdom? Horoscopes?
Popular magazines? Someone on
satellite radio? Most of you read books,
magazines, newspapers, and the social media.
We are encouraged to read as a child but as adults we have forgotten
this vital piece of advice. What do you
call a child that reads two books a year?
A slow or below average reader. What do your call an adult that reads two
books a year? Normal. Amazingly the national average for books read by American adults is less than two books a
year.
You have heard, perhaps even said
“I determined that when I got out of college, that I would never read another
book again. I haven’t read a book in
twenty years.” These people are proud of
it. I ask myself, "Are these people
on the path of search for wisdom?" These
may not be folks with whom you can afford to become close for their search for
wisdom ended years ago.
If you do not think that you can
take the time to read, you can always listen to audiobooks. “You do not know what my life is like. I have a job. My wife has a job. I have kids.
I am the president of the social club.
You are telling me that I need to read books and listen to recordings?” Yes. You do not have to clear the house and
your calendar, sit at a table with pen and paper and take notes. You do not have to pay attention like that. All you have to do is press the play
button. Listen while you are cooking,
mowing, driving the kids to school.
Listen while you shower. Listen while you sleep. You will get it. After all, consider the number of commercial
jingles or television theme songs you have inadvertently memorize (“Let me tell
you a story about a man name Jed, poor mountaineer that barely kept his family
fed.”) If anything is going to be
programming you subconscious mind, why not choose the programming.
Know that you are not reading
just to read. You are reading to gain
wisdom. Remember you are who you
spend time with, and you are what you read. (The social media and Maury may not be best
for you.) Sometimes, it is useful to
explore subjects that have nothing to do with our occupational endeavors and
let your mind make its own connections.
The Leadership Academy is conducting a book study of Jack Welch, former
CEO of GE. His books is entitled The 4
E’s of Effective Leadership. We
start this afternoon, making the connection.
Never forsake the assembling. There
is power in fellowship. Choose
your companions wisely.Friends
influence us at any age. If we
are surrounded by those who use bad language, your language will tend toward that.
If we hang with those who have certain viewpoints, you will be persuaded by
those views. If you spend time with those
who are lazy, you will tend towards laziness.
If you are comfortable with people who make excuses, you will tend to
make excuses as well.
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| A True Friend Holds You to a Higher Standard |
A true friend is not someone who accepts you as
you are. A true friend is one that holds you to a higher standard. He/She expects you to do what you said you
were going to do, when you said you were going to do it. A
true friend makes you better by his or her presence.
Seek the Counsel of the Wise
Find those that are smarter
than you, are more skilled than you, and have more fruit on the tree in key
parts of their life. Develop a Board of Directors for your
life. Befriend a spiritual, emotional,
physical and financial adviser. Have a
friend that makes you laugh. Have a
friend who is a good listener. You do
not have to tell them that they are on the Board- it can be your secret.
Beware of the Waterloo
As you are more successful, you
will find the path less traveled. Never think that you know all. During the 100 Day Campaign of 1815, all of Europe feared Napoleon. At Waterloo, Napoleon drove his French
Calvary of 5,000 directly into the British cannon fire and separated the
English form their artillery. The French
had captured the guns, Napoleon would have defeated Wellington at Waterloo- except that the French had forgotten the
nails. When troops overran an opponent’s cannon, they would take headless nails and drive them down into the touch-hole,
rendering the cannon useless. Napoleons
troops had asked before the battle, “Where are the nails?” Their confusion was ignored. They had all- guns, horses, swords, lances,
and artillery pieces but no nails.
Wellington’s men got the cannons back and turned them on Napoleon’s army
and the French were defeated
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| No Counsel, No Nails, No Win |
When you counsel yourself, you
make decisions according to what you know.
By counseling with wise men and women, you add their knowledge and
experience to your own, dramatically increasing you chances for success and
decrease the possibility of failure.
Know that the past will never
change, but you can change the future by changing your actions today. We, as humans, are always in a process of
change. We might as well guide the direction of that change. It is a simple process. Seek wisdom in words and counsel.
Next week, we will discuss
serving others.
