The Dash

It's not the things we get but the hearts we touch that will determine our success in life. Making a difference in the lives of others is what The Dash is all about. In the end, however, the significance of our life will be determined by the choices we make. We can choose positive over negative, smiles over frowns, giving over talking and love over hate. It is only when we take responsibility for our choices that we begin to realize we truly are the masters of our fate. Only then will our lives begin to change for the better.

One of the most powerful stories about choices that I've ever read was written by Lance Wubbels and I would like to share with you today.

In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here. It began with the fond recollection of the love his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long-buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present loneliness. Setting aside one of the dusty photo albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son's childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children's old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head. Opening the yellowing pages he glanced over a short entry, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten. Reminded that he had kept a journal of his business activities over the years...Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son's was tattered and the name "Jimmy" had been nearly scuffed from its surface. As he opened the journal, the old man's eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words: Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn't catch a thing. With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy's journal and found the boy's entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters pressed deeply in the paper read: Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life. (ST)

Family Tour Slideshow: Lowell’s trip from Iligan, Mindanao, Philippines to Maramag was created by TripAdvisor. See another Maramag slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Malaysia kl Slideshow: Lowell’s trip from Cebu, Visayas, Philippines to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was created by TripAdvisor. See another Kuala Lumpur slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

Thailand Trip Slideshow: Lowell’s trip from Cebu, Visayas, Philippines to Thailand was created by TripAdvisor. See another Thailand slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Leadership at Large (JCM)

Want To Be a Success? Celebrate Failure

"Failure is not an option."
Gene Kranz, Apollo 13

Unless you're skydiving, tightrope walking, or trying to land a space shuttle, failure IS an option. In fact, the most successful people usually are the ones who have failed the most. Unafraid to take risks, they stumble frequently, but in doing so they learn valuable lessons and improve themselves.

Consider Google. The California-based firm revolutionized Internet search technology and Internet advertising, and it has created a host of innovative tools such as its mapping service (Google Maps), email platform (Gmail), web browser (Google Chrome), and mobile phone operating system (Android).

But spectacular successes rarely come without spectacular failures. The company massively misfired with Google Wave, a web application designed to integrate email, social networking, and instant messaging. On August 4th, Google announced its decision to shut down the high-profile project, not even a year after its launch. In explaining the decision, Google CEO Eric Schmidt asserted the company's attitude toward the situation:

"We celebrate our failures. This is a company where it's absolutely okay to try something that's very hard, have it not be successful, and take the learning from that."

Celebrating Failure

Leaders set the tone for how their people view failure. In particular the stance leaders take toward failure affects an organization's tolerance for risk, openness, creativity, and teamwork. With so much at stake, how can leaders create a culture in which failure is celebrated rather than feared?

1) Encourage Risk-Taking

Leaders invite their people to take risks when they entrust them with the authority to make decisions and the responsibility to exercise their own judgments. People who are empowered to act without having to seek the approval of higher-ups may misstep occasionally. Yet, in the long run they'll learn invaluable lessons and gain confidence in their own abilities.

2) Set Expectations

Leaders de-stigmatize failure by setting the expectations that, from time to time, people will mess up. Instead of insisting on perfection, seasoned leaders simply desire progress. They concern themselves with effort rather than focusing only on outcomes. To this end, they don't punish failure; they welcome it as a natural part of life and a necessary step in the process of maturing as a leader.

3) Interpret Setbacks

Some people are their own worst critics. After making a mistake, they have trouble recovering and moving on. Leaders come alongside their teammates to help them interpret failure. Instead of equating an error with disaster, leaders point to the slip-up as a portal of discovery. They frame failure as a learning opportunity and use it to instruct and guide team members.

Crisis management: planning and ... - Google Book Search

Crisis management: planning and ... - Google Book Search

On Becoming a Person (C.Rogers)

I have found it of enormous value when I can permit myself to understand the other person. The way in which I have worded this statement may seem strange to you. Is it necessary to permit oneself to understand another? I think it is. Our first reaction to most of the statements [which we hear from other people] is an evaluation or judgment, rather than an understanding of it.
When someone expresses some feeling, attitude or belief, our tendency is almost immediately to feel "that's right", or "that's stupid," "that's incorrect," "that's not nice,". Very rarely do we permit ourselves to understand precisely what the meaning of the statement is to the other person...