Sunday, July 19, 2009

Week 29 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

Nobody wants to hear this, but the food most of us are eating is slowly killing us or at least doing us more harm than good. Not because there are not healthy choices out there, but because we choose so many unhealthy foods. Most of us are not aware of the “dangers” that were well chronicled in “Food, Inc.” - a documentary I watched over the weekend. Watch the Trailer Since most of the readers of this blog are in the food business, we should be informed so we can make the choice to do the right thing for ourselves and our customers.

  • Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year
    • My favorite quote for the week of July 19th – 25th: “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they’ve never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin
      • What was most alarming in the film, for a grandfather like me, is that one out of three Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; among minorities, the rate will be one in two. It scares me just to think about what my granddaughter eats now. I will be having a conversation with my daughter about this movie.
      • So what can you do for yourself and your family? Clink on this link: 10 simple things you can do. For those of you who attended our Leadership Week, remember the Jamie Oliver video – “Living with Change”, where they changed the school lunches? Most compelling was the positive health and behavioral changes that occurred.

  • The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit
    • Week Twenty-Eight Assignment – Purify
      • How about adopting some of the 10 simple things described above? An old computer quote is “garbage in – garbage out.” The same is true for the food we eat.
    • Week Twenty-Nine Assignment – Bless Your Body
      • It’s so easy to take our physical self for granted. It’s easy to forget that our bodies are a delicate gift – a temporary home for our souls. If you are overweight or don’t get enough exercise, you are paying a psychological price as well.
      • How can you start to bless your body? There are three vital behaviors you can do every day – exercise on home equipment, eat breakfast, and weigh yourself daily. The National Weight Control Registry identified these vital behaviors for weight loss - tracking people who lost 30 pounds and kept it off for a minimum of six years.
        • Since I have lost and gained back 30 pounds at least 10 times in my life, I thought I’d give it a try. I began last October and have lost 26 pounds - four to go. Pretty soon, the hard part will start – keeping it off.

  • Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.

o This week, I had several conversations about two fundamental principles many of us more fully realize during our XLR8 YOU!! Leadership Excellence experience.

o First, until you accept total responsibility – no matter what – you will not be able to fully live your passions.

o Second, transitioning to leadership that will bring us fulfillment requires that you make different decisions. They are different because they are not made for our self interest, but for the common good. Not just the good of the company, but for our communities and the planet.

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