"One of my favorite memories of my Grandmother is how often
she would remind us that, "If you don't stand for
something, you'll fall for anything." I've been told she
may have been quoting someone who said it before her, but
for me, she gets credit for it and for the positive impact
it's had in my life." says Philip Humbert.
I was reminded of her great wisdom twice this week. The
first was when one of my MasterMind partners sent a
statement of his personal values. Lots of us have done
"value clarification exercises," and I've done my share.
But what really caught my attention was that below each of
his Top 10 Values, Joseph listed specific actions to assess
whether he is living in harmony with his values.
That, my friends, takes real courage! It takes guts to
honestly compare our daily behavior to our highest
aspirations and values. And then, of course, sharing
something like that with a MasterMind team displays
incredible trust. It got my attention, big time!
So, to express one of my own values and priorities, I
figured I'd read a good book. I dove into Ron Chernow's
biography of George Washington. It's a wonderful book and I
highly recommend it! Unfortunately, it only challenged me,
still further, to compare my own values and behaviors.
Turns out, George Washington also attempted to live by a
personal code of conduct. Throughout the book, a constant
theme is Washington's struggles with his sense of personal
responsibility, his desire to avoid gossip, to be
industrious and cordial to everyone, while refusing to be
"buddies" with those who did not share his priorities. He
chose his friends carefully and avoided temptations to
drink, gamble, or indulge in other questionable activities.
Chernow's biography reminded me of the importance our
country's Founders put on following a personal Code of
Conduct.
Ben Franklin had a list of 13 virtues which he pursued
through his adult life. He chose one of the virtues and
focused on it for an entire week, before moving on to the
next one the following week. In this way, he focused on
each of his 13 priorities in rotation, for four weeks each
year.
Which obviously raises the question: What are your top
values?
Do you have a list? Is it written down? Do you review it
frequently? Have you shared it with your friends, family
and your closest colleagues?
And perhaps most importantly, do you have a system for
measuring your progress? Does your daily behavior reflect
your priorities in terms of time, effort, thought, and
investment? Are you doing a better job of living the life
you want than you were a year ago?
A hundred years ago, Personal Development usually
focused on living a virtuous, honest and moral life.
Personal Development was about integrity, courage,
consistency and becoming the person you wish to be.
In our generation, Personal Development largely revolves
around financial success, including skills like leadership,
public speaking or business. Now, these are good things! I
encourage you to develop your skills in all these areas!
But I fear our society is less focused on morality,
integrity, personal honesty and the courage to stand for
our beliefs. We just don't think or talk about these things
very much. I think we should.
For Washington, it meant that "his word was his bond." He
valued a reputation for integrity, persistence, honesty
and hard work, and he meant to demonstrate these values
through his actions every day. Franklin had his 13 virtues
and he worked to improve his understanding of them and his
behavior, every day of his life. I encourage you to do the
same.
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
she would remind us that, "If you don't stand for
something, you'll fall for anything." I've been told she
may have been quoting someone who said it before her, but
for me, she gets credit for it and for the positive impact
it's had in my life." says Philip Humbert.
I was reminded of her great wisdom twice this week. The
first was when one of my MasterMind partners sent a
statement of his personal values. Lots of us have done
"value clarification exercises," and I've done my share.
But what really caught my attention was that below each of
his Top 10 Values, Joseph listed specific actions to assess
whether he is living in harmony with his values.
That, my friends, takes real courage! It takes guts to
honestly compare our daily behavior to our highest
aspirations and values. And then, of course, sharing
something like that with a MasterMind team displays
incredible trust. It got my attention, big time!
So, to express one of my own values and priorities, I
figured I'd read a good book. I dove into Ron Chernow's
biography of George Washington. It's a wonderful book and I
highly recommend it! Unfortunately, it only challenged me,
still further, to compare my own values and behaviors.
Turns out, George Washington also attempted to live by a
personal code of conduct. Throughout the book, a constant
theme is Washington's struggles with his sense of personal
responsibility, his desire to avoid gossip, to be
industrious and cordial to everyone, while refusing to be
"buddies" with those who did not share his priorities. He
chose his friends carefully and avoided temptations to
drink, gamble, or indulge in other questionable activities.
Chernow's biography reminded me of the importance our
country's Founders put on following a personal Code of
Conduct.
Ben Franklin had a list of 13 virtues which he pursued
through his adult life. He chose one of the virtues and
focused on it for an entire week, before moving on to the
next one the following week. In this way, he focused on
each of his 13 priorities in rotation, for four weeks each
year.
Which obviously raises the question: What are your top
values?
Do you have a list? Is it written down? Do you review it
frequently? Have you shared it with your friends, family
and your closest colleagues?
And perhaps most importantly, do you have a system for
measuring your progress? Does your daily behavior reflect
your priorities in terms of time, effort, thought, and
investment? Are you doing a better job of living the life
you want than you were a year ago?
A hundred years ago, Personal Development usually
focused on living a virtuous, honest and moral life.
Personal Development was about integrity, courage,
consistency and becoming the person you wish to be.
In our generation, Personal Development largely revolves
around financial success, including skills like leadership,
public speaking or business. Now, these are good things! I
encourage you to develop your skills in all these areas!
But I fear our society is less focused on morality,
integrity, personal honesty and the courage to stand for
our beliefs. We just don't think or talk about these things
very much. I think we should.
For Washington, it meant that "his word was his bond." He
valued a reputation for integrity, persistence, honesty
and hard work, and he meant to demonstrate these values
through his actions every day. Franklin had his 13 virtues
and he worked to improve his understanding of them and his
behavior, every day of his life. I encourage you to do the
same.
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
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