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Forgiveness at times can be difficult, can’t it?

I was talking today about the burdensome weight that not forgiving can bring.  Not forgiving can cause one to lurk in the murkiness of resentment.

One of my favorite quotes by Fredrick Buechner:

“Of all the deadly sins, resentment appears to be the most fun.  To lick your wounds and savor the pain you will give back is in many ways a feast fit for a king.  But then it turns out that what you are eating at the banquet of bitterness is your own heart.  The skeleton at the feast is you.  You start out holding a grudge, but in the end the grudge holds you.”

Who do you need forgive?

Tom Peters (modern manager guru) has an interesting perspective on the current economic landscape.

“‘IT’ (the current economic mess) is 100% about psychology. Fixes must first and second and third and fourth be directly aimed at our inherent irrationality—times ten in periods of high stress, and at least as true of the ‘bestest and brightest’ as of the rest of us.”

To read more from Tom Peters you can check out his blog here.

During World War II England was in a very precarious situation as Hitler’s regime was on the cusp of taking over England.  The mindset of many leaders in England was that of “survival.”  Churchill however had a different mindset, that they were not going to  just survive, they were going to PREVAIL!

What a mindset shift.  So simple, yet powerful.

Are you just trying to survive today?  Or…or…are you of the mindset that you will PREVAIL?!

And of course, how could one forget the speech that rings with inspiration until this day:

“…even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”

Don’t just survive today…PREVAIL!

I love the subject of leadership.  Below is a list of leadership lessons that I read awhile ago, and was recently re-introduced.  They are lessons given by one of the most brilliant and pragmatic leaders of our day, whom I have a lot of respect for, Colin Powell.

Lesson 1:  Good leaders sometimes make people unhappy.

Lesson 2: The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of a relationship.

Lesson 3: Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.

Lesson 4: Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.

Lesson 5: Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted, the leader must be doubly vigilant.

Lesson 6: You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.

Lesson 7: Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.

Lesson 8: Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.

Lesson 9: Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.

Lesson 10: Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.

Lesson 11: Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.

Lesson 12: Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Lesson 13: “Powell’s Rules for Picking People” – Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to get things done.

Lesson 14: Great leaders are almost always great simplifier’s, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.

Lesson 15 Part I: Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired.

Lesson 15 Part II: Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.

Lesson 16: The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proven otherwise.

Lesson 17: Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families.

Lesson 18: Command is lonely.