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opportunity to break out of our day-to-day existence and are
confronted with the reality of the world around us.
Recently,
one of the Excellerate Solutions partners, Bill Spreitzer,
had such an opportunity. What he discovered about the world
and how it applies to him and his work is the topic of this
newsletter. We hope you find this article compelling to move
you forward in challenging your day-to-day existence and to see the
"bigger picture".
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Life Lessons from Africa
By: Bill Spreitzer
This
past summer I was blessed with the opportunity to facilitate energy management/employee
engagement workshops for a large, global pharmaceutical company in
Africa. I traveled to the Ivory Coast and Nigeria to work with ~45
leaders on how to manage and expand their energy to live a fully
engaged life both at work and at home. Although my co-facilitators
and I were the trainers and assumed "experts" in energy
management, we ended up learning (or should I say "re-learning") quite a bit about life and
leadership from our African brothers and sisters.
Below are five lessons that I was reminded of during my rich
experiences in Africa:
- Don't
Get Attached to How it is Supposed to Look
At
times I get caught up in my assumptions and expectations of how an
event or situation should transpire - from the environment and
surroundings to the people involved and their actions. I get myopic
or "tunnel visioned" into the way
things should be and my need for control takes over from there. In
Africa I learned that it's not my perspective and wants that matter
most but that of those I am honored to serve. What may be
uncomfortable and stressful to me may be comfortable and familiar to
others. Changing my attitude and perspective by answering
"what's my purpose for being here right now?" and "who
do I need to be to achieve that purpose?" allows me to let go of
control and to focus outward on the needs of others - no matter how
it looks.
- How Very Much Alike We
Are
Over my career, I've worked with colleagues in many different
countries and continents (China, Southeast Asia, Eastern/Western
Europe, Latin America, Canada, Mexico, USA) - most recently
Africa. Although our cultures and life experiences are obviously
different, what I have discovered is that as human beings we are
very much alike when it comes to matters of the heart. We share
the deep seeded needs of making a difference for others, for
being valued and for creating value. We all have a purpose for
being alive and the passions and values that go hand-in-hand
with it. We all have struggles and life obstacles that get in
our way of fulfilling our purpose and being fulfilled. It will
serve me well to first seek out in others those things that bind
us together so as to view our differences in a more accepting
light.
- Generously
Listen with Your Whole Being
While working in Africa, I had to deal
with a foreign language (French), heavy local accents and
different ways of communicating a message non-verbally. This
required me to quiet my mind, be fully present in the moment,
listen to tone of voice and rate of speech, observe facial
expressions and gestures, and to take the time to seek
clarification. Wow, it dawned on me that this is the way I
should listen to everybody in my life - generously and with my
whole being. When's the last time you were listened to in this
way?
- Be
Grateful
It seems that I never appreciate all
the blessings I have until I experience those who live without
the "comforts" that I am afforded each day. This
lesson of gratitude was made clear to me while traveling the
streets of Abidjan and Lagos and seeing firsthand what poor and
hungry looks like. So, when I'm feeling sorry for myself and a
victim of my circumstances, I will pause and take an inventory
of all those things and people I am grateful for and then return
my focus to serving others and my life purpose.
- Be Patient
Talk about traffic? In Lagos, given the sheer volume of vehicles
and the narrow streets/bridges, it took 2 ½ hours to travel what
should have taken 30 - 40 minutes. Also, many of my African
colleagues I interacted with at hotels, airports and in the
workshops tended to move at a slower pace, not sharing the same
sense of urgency that govern my life. Uh oh, I feel another
lesson coming on - that's right, patience. I get to "chill
out" as my adult son and daughter often remind me and go with
the "flow". Being patient with situations, people, and
myself leads to being at peace and
acting in alignment with my values and purpose.
As
you can see, I had to travel all the way to Africa, twice, to be
reminded of some essential lessons from which to live my life by.
My hope is that you benefit from the insights I gained and
which have deepened my appreciation for letting go of control,
focusing out on what and who is important, being patient, grateful
and connected to what makes us all human.
Copyright protected, all rights reserved worldwide.
©2013
Bill Spreitzer - Excellerate Solutions, Inc.
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Previous
Newsletters
June 2013
·
Priorities, Passion and Purpose
March 2013
·
Authentic Leadership
Nov/Dec 2012
·
Employee Engagement: A Differentiator for Your Success
September 2012
·
Passions, Passions, What are your Passions
July 2012
·
Storytelling: The Power to Shift the Conversation
June 2012
·
The Keys to Our Success - What Doors Can We Help You
Unlock?
·
8 Reasons Passion Matters
- The Power of Perspective
- 6 Steps to Achieve the
Results you want as a Leader
- Three Ways My Coaching Will
Improve Your Life
- Change: Something Lost,
Something Gained
February 2011
- How to Create a Positively
Contagious Attitude
- Do You Have a Coach?
January 2011
- The New Normal
- Becoming an Entrepreneur:
Taking a Leap of Faith
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Motivational Quotes
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled
by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with
deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns
what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a
feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."
"Have patience with all things, But, first of all
with yourself."
"Good character is not formed in a week or a month.
It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient
effort is needed to develop good character."
"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of
listening when you'd have preferred to talk."
"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a
creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move
toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and
expand."
"The deepest principle in human nature is the
craving to be appreciated."
"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for
the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have
any control: now."
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