The Invisible Mentor

Archive for May, 2009

In an age of 24/7, do you find yourself always feeling frazzled? Do you take time daily to reflect on what’s going “right” in your life. Because we are constantly bombarded with negative messages, we tend to focus on the negative and discount the many things that are going “right” for us. Get a pen and a sheet of paper and answer the following questions. Take time to reflect on your answers.

1. What are five things that you like about yourself?
2. What are five things that you think you do well?
3. What are five things that people compliment you on?
4. What’s an accomplishment that you’re proudest of?
5. What excites you about life?
6. How do you nurture your soul?
7. If money were no object, would you be doing many of the things that you are now doing? If no, why?
8. If you were promised $5 million to stay on a deserted island for two years, and you could take one person, one music CD, one movie and one book, who and what would you choose? Why?
9. Let your imagination run wild, how would you spend the time on the deserted island? What have you been wanting to do, but have told yourself that you didn’t have the time?
10. Complete the following. I am happiest when…

Look at the photographs below, what emotions do they evoke in you? Why? Are the emotions mostly positive or negative? Why?

House in Barbados

The Great Wall of China (East Wall)

A Cow Relaxing in Grenada

Fruit Stand in Jamaica

Articles of Interest by Zemanta

The Great Wall of China is even longer than once thought (news.bbc.co.uk)

Photo credits: Avil Beckford

Leslie Householder, Invisible Mentor and best-selling author of the Jackrabbit Factor shares her wisdom with us in a phone interview. Listen to her talk about a challenge she faced and how she resolved it. How did she transform a failure into a greater success? Can you guess which books  she would take with her on a deserted island? When is Leslie most happy? To find out the answers to these questions and much more, listen to her audio interview.

Click here now to listen to Leslie’s interview. After you have listened to her interview, what are five takeaways? What are five things that you will now do differently? What ideas can you implement? What do you have in common with Leslie? When you have some time, answer the questions and then compare your answers to Leslie’s . How do they differ? Keep your answers handy to compare to other Invisible Mentors.

In the interview, Leslie says that mentors helped her to stretch herself, and a core message she received from them was that traction brings opportunity, do you agree with that? When you face adversity, do you look for an accompanying opportunity? Reflect on this!

At a later date, I will have a transcript of this interview.

 About Leslie Householder: Leslie is an international best selling, award winning author of Hidden Treasures and The Jackrabbit Factor.  Wife to Trevan and mother of seven, she is also the president and co-founder of Thoughts Alive International and School of Life Mastery – helping people everywhere reach their highest potential.  She is a contributing author to multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and her articles online and in print publications have reached hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.  She will help you enjoy peace of mind in ANY economy and discover how to tap into a hidden source of genius, for overcoming obstacles and thriving in spite of life’s most difficult challenges.

Looking Up

“Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
The Analects of Confucius

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And Today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it  the present.” Babatunde Olatunji

“When the heart grieves over what it has lost, the spirit rejoices over what it has found.” Sufi saying

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Big results require big ambitions.” Heraclitus

“Do not yield to misfortunes, but advance more boldly to meet them, as your fortune permits you.” Virgil

“Everybody likes to go their own way–to choose their own time and manner of devotion.” Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John Crosby

“Succeeding is not really a life experience that does that much good. Failing is a much more sobering and enlightening experience.” Michael Eisner

 Which of the above quotation resonates with you and why? What is your favourite quotation and why?

Photo credit: Avil Beckford

The Analects of Confucius is a collection of the teachings of Confucius, the Chinese philosopher and great thinker who lived 551 BC – 479 BC.

Presented as a series of discourses and dialogues that Confucius had with his disciples, The Analects of Confucius was written by his disciples several years after he died. The Analects consists of 20 Books (Chapters) and is essentially a rulebook of life. While reading this rulebook, it reminded me of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility.

Just as it is in the case of  Franklin’s virtues, some of the rules in Confucius’ rulebook are no longer relevant today, but I also appreciated reading The Analects of Confucius the same way that I appreciated reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin because some gems of wisdom are scattered throughout both texts.

Below are some of the things which stood out for me. Though I was not always comfortable with the language,  I am very mindful of when The Analects of Confucius was written. I am sure that your list would be different.

1. Confucius said, “Those who are born with the possession of knowledge are the highest class of men. Those who learn, and so readily get possession of knowledge, are the next. Those who are dull and stupid, and yet compass the learning, are another class next to these. As to those who are dull and stupid and yet do not learn; they are the lowest of the people.”
2.  The philosopher Tsang said, “I daily examine myself on three points: whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful; whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere; whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher.”
3.  The philosopher Yu said, “When agreements are made according to what is right, what is spoken can be made good. When respect is shown according to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace. When the parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be intimate with, he can make them his guides and masters.”
4.  ”To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”
5.  The Master said, “Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”
6.  Tsze-chang asked what were the characteristics of the good man. The Master said, “He does not tread in the footsteps of others, but moreover, he does not enter the chamber of the sage.”
7.  The Master said, “When internal examination discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, what is there to fear?”
8.  The Master said, “Do not be desirous to have things done quickly; do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.”

 The Analects of Confucius is easy to read because it’s not very long. Click here to download an online version of the book. I am sure after reading it you will find your own gems of wisdom. So what did I get from reading The Analects of Confucius? Act with courage and integrity, be thorough, chart your own path and learn continuously, are a few of the gems I identified.

Related posts

Judging Oneself: How Confucius Did It

Confucius said – Build a Better Blog

Related articles by Zemanta

Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things. (quotationsbook.com)
Meet the future of teaching: Mr Confucius (guardian.co.uk)

Photo credit: Public domain photo of Confucius

"When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it; this is knowledge." Analects of Confucius

How do you become the person you were meant to be? How do you better your situation? How do you snag that promotion, when promotions are in short supply?

Simple!

You have to separate yourself from the rest.

One way to separate yourself is to expand your body of knowledge, know more than the next person. Knowledge isn’t power, contrary to what many may say or think, it’s what you do with the knowledge that gives you power.

And, being good at one thing is no longer enough, you have to be good at many things. The more you work on expanding your knowledge base, the better your ability to problem solve and make better decisions because you have more data to access.

And when you work hard at becoming more knowledgeable, suddenly you start to feel lucky because opportunity after opportunity presents itself. But, opportunities are everywhere if you just take the time to look. Slow down, and breathe in what’s around you, take time to reflect on everything and you will be amazed at what you see and feel.

The following three websites where knowledge rules are just waiting for you to discover and explore them.

Ted.org
How Stuff Works
Infed.org

Take a visit, open your mind and expect to be fed. For starters, you could listen to Jill Bolte Taylor talk about her Stroke of Insight, learn how your brain impacts your chances for survival in the wilderness, or read about Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle. The possibilities are endless and invisible mentors are all around you. Let us know what gems you have discovered. How can you apply what you have learned to your life? 

No related post

Photo credit: Avil Beckford