Blend in. Stand out.

For all my life, given the choice I would always, far and away, prefer to blend in than to stand out; rather melt away quietly, unobtrusively, with the bobbing waves of pedestrians along the city street than to stand upon a soap box and preach to the masses.

But as I grew older, my preference would become challenged, time and again.

There then came handfuls of occasions where, confronted with decision, my heart suddenly became arrested; paralyzed, not with fear or unwanting or hesitation, but from an unbearable calling to not blend in any more, …

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“Don’t underestimate just how badly many people want to fit in. We say we want to root for the underdog, but actually, we want to be seen as rooting for whomever everyone else is rooting for.”  – Seth Godin, 1/5/2012

I don’t want to be famous.

I only realized this a few weeks ago. I said it aloud, probably for the first time, in a conversation with a friend and fellow blogger over the phone. She concurred.

In the beginning of our separate pursuits, popularity, fame and acclaim were end-goals for each of us: stuff like making it onto The …

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“I live and I learn
And I lose and I win
But it’s better than ever
Whenever I’m in,
I thank you girl
For everywhere that we’ve been.”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Meet Me at the Corner

Happy New Year!

I’ve done things a bit backwards so far this January by posting a mega-post on some unconventional New Year’s Resolutions, followed today by my Annual Review mega-post that looks back and explores just about everything that I learned, accomplished, failed at and much more in the year 2011.

After writing this post, I really appreciate how much of …

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The New Year reminds us that we always have the opportunity to commit ourselves to something wonderful and to rededicate ourselves to a truer, fuller, more vibrant sense of who we are and what we wish to do in this life.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour.”

As far as we are concerned, every morning is the New Year.

In 2012, let us greet each sunrise as a fresh, new, and profound opportunity.

Today, I’ve written a fun list of 81 different kinds of “resolutions” that will …

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A leader without followers thinks, breathes and acts in harmony with his environment.

People are a part of that environment.

And instead of being seen dismissively as “followers”, others become vital components. Teammates. Players. Helpers. Beneficiaries of our words, actions and deeds. The very reason behind what we do!

Their simple smiles fire the sparks of 10,000 suns within our hearts — and, quietly, we say to ourselves, “Yes… let’s do that once more.”

Followers are not the lifeblood of a leader. Goodness is. Positivity is. Love is.

Giving to and caring for and helping people… this is the mission, …

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The king fears allowing his peasants to read because a man in power wishes to remain there.

He further seduces himself under the illusion that he is more worthy of being “a leader” than his peasants. He convinces himself that he is more intelligent than the masses — that the earthly possessions, social status and prestige he has acquired are indicators of this, or signs from the Almighty himself!

In times of old, an entire lifetime would pass before a king would be forced to recall his mortality — his finiteness, his simple humanity. But every king shall fall.

Today, …

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How do we lead “without followers” from within a group, business or a corporate environment?

In what ways is it possible to exert our alternative leadership philosophy within the sometimes-constraining rules, regulations and boundaries of an organization?

We embrace openness. We enable. We empower. We inspire.

On a personal level, we make a daily practice of recognizing, understanding, and reeling in our egos: the want — as a boss, manager, supervisor, or fellow employee — to exert your “rightness” over others’ “wrongness.”

A leader without followers can still teach others the proper ways to perform, carry out duties and maintain …

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