Up, Down And All Over The Place

As I write this the stock market is all over the place.  One day it’s up, the next it’s down.  Some days it’s both in one day.

Crazy!  Yet analysts all have theories, reasons, excuses, projections and speculation.

This week, I would like to share some thoughts – not on the stock market – but on its activity.

Are you like the stock market?

For some personality types, the extreme high and extreme low can happen in a matter of minutes.  For the rest – the high and low can be a day or two apart.  There are a few folks who are UP all the time.  And, sadly – there are folks who are down so low – they make every attempt to drag others down with them.  Misery loves company.  And if you ain’t miserable, they will help you get that way in a hurry.

So, why am I analyzing this?

Quite simply, your clients, coworkers, vendors, and even future acquaintances all see you as the world sees you.  Many of them are looking for someone who has some stability in their emotion.  They are looking for a person they can rely on.  And, if you are all over the map emotionally – guess what?  You are not their guy.

Steady your mood.  Step back from where you are and view your situation from a different perspective.  I have even see people take a walk to the break room, cafeteria, bathroom or maybe a walk around the building to clear their heads and refresh.  Use stepping away as your own way of pushing the REFRESH button.  

Notice that stockbrokers are not willing to invest in a stock that does not look like it will go up.  Similarly, potential clients, management, and coworkers are not going to be willing to put time and effort in to someone who is not going to deliver, produce, grow or improve.

Of course, there are the stockbrokers who “short” stocks in anticipation that they will “tank” even further.  Likewise, there are a few people who will take a gamble with you in anticipation that you will get out of the game and they will be right in place to take over your client base, names list, product line, etc.

Just like analysts in the stock market – we sometimes play analyst with ourselves.  We defend our lack of performance.  We make excuses out the wazzoo.  We play the blame game.

Bad move.

Remember – a wise man never counsels himself.

And, it takes different knowledge to fix a flat tire than it does to get one.

Take responsibility.  Then get advice from a mentor, a coach, a boss who is schooled and successful in your arena.

Leaders are groomed over time – they are not made overnight.

Take the first step.

Have a great week.

Ron

Judas Principle

First I want to give a big thanks to a sweet person, Tracy Jones for the inspiration for this week’s blog.  Tracy’s dog mentions this principle in the book “True Blue Leadership” – which is a wonderful light read about leadership.  The book is full of wisdom from its introduction all the through the last page.

Do you work with a Judas?  Is there a Judas in your neighborhood?  Perhaps you have one in your family.

You helped them on a work project pouring all your time and creativity into it.  You know they will get the credit, but it doesn’t matter.  Maybe you have even put your own work load on hold, so that you can devote more time on their project.  Then it happens – wham!  They throw you under the bus.

Or

Your neighbor is doing some remodeling.  Since you have the tools and the know how, you lend a hand.  You do it to be nice.  You give up your free time, weekends, maybe even you have given up time with your family.  Then, unexpectedly – kaboom!  He stabs you in the back.

Or

Your relative has fallen on hard times.  You learn that he or she is behind on their bills, out of work, and they have no food in the fridge.  You offer to help out – take them grocery shopping, loan them some money, or maybe even offer them some temp work.  Without any warning signs, it happens – pow!   That family member starts a malicious rumor about you.

Has it happened to you?

Take heart, you are not alone.  Even Jesus had one of his chosen, close friends betray him for 30 pieces of silver.

Now what?

Stay true to your values.

The Bible tells us in your anger do not sin.

Surround yourself with loyal followers and friends.

David Brinkley provides a very good quote here, “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

In difficult times, a leader will shine.

Remember, leaders bounce back.

Here are 2 books I recommend:

·        True Blue Leadership by Mr. Blue – available through Tremendous Life Books  1-800-233-2665   http://www.tremendouslifebooks.com/

·        How To Bounce When Others Break by Dr. Steve W. Price  distributed through Kat Ranch Marketing in Brooksville, FL

Have a great week and remember to bounce back, shine and grow on.

Ron Orendi

Hut 1 - Hut 2 - Learning From Pro Football

Well football season has finally begun.  The lockout has ended.  Training Camp is in full swing.  And, the first exhibition games have been played.

Every year, it seems, I always hear someone make the same statement regarding professional athletes.  The statement usually goes something like this, “Those players make too darn much money.” 

Are they really making too much money?

For one thing, they are not getting paid for playing a 16 game season plus a few exhibition games. 

They are getting paid for a solid week’s worth of work – that the vast majority of us could not endure…..no matter how “in shape” we think we are.

They are getting paid for the hours they spend in the gym, at the camp, on the practice field, learning new offensive or defensive strategies, watching game films, and honing their individual craft.

They also are getting paid for keeping their bodies in professional shape – even if they are a huge lineman.

They are also getting paid for the level of talent they bring to the field.

AND, they are getting paid for the thousands of hours they put in from midget football through high school and college ball becoming a stand out athlete.

They have made countless sacrifices in life to have a remote shot at achieving their dream – becoming a pro athlete.

Of course – all that work, sweat, time and effort has an average life span in the pros of about 4 years.

So what?

You may be asking, “So what does this have to do with me – a salesman, an executive, a laborer, an average person?”

Tons!!!!!

We can learn a lot from these pro athletes.

·        They have a dream

·        They have set a goal

·        They have charted a path to reach that goal.

·        They have sacrificed

·        They have put forth the effort

·        They have pushed through the pain

·        They have overcome the struggles

·        They have played hurt

·        They’ve stayed focused

·        They’ve listened to coaches and mentors

·        They’ve studied their craft both on the field and in the classroom

…all while we sit in our recliners and condemn them for dropping a pass.  Or, we sit at the local sports bar sipping a lager and eating nachos putting them down for throwing a bad pass.

Truth is, if we applied the same effort to our jobs as the pro athletes do to their – we could be the all stars in our own profession.  We may not be offered a million dollar contract – but we may be on our way to the top pay in our field.

What if…………………….

What if we walked in to work tomorrow with the same passion an NFL player has?

What if we had that same desire?

What if starting tomorrow – you set a goal with a date to be just 10% better than you are today?

I challenge you to push yourself to be beyond average.

You can do it!  I know you can.

I dare you to raise the bar on yourself.

Feel free to comment and let me know how you are doing.

Have a Super Bowl week.

Ron Orendi

Learning From Moses

One of my mentors once told me that I would not live long enough on this earth to learn from my mistakes.  He suggested that I start learning from the mistakes of others.

Exodus 18: 13 – 37

¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

 ¹⁵ Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

 ¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. ²¹ But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

 ²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²⁶ They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

 ²⁷ Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Moses, as his father in-law noted, was in a position where he was having to solve everyone’s problems. 

I see many pastors who “rule” their congregations this way.  The flock are not allowed to make a move without the blessing of the pastor.  Consequently, the pastor gets burned out from having to oversee every committee, every project and every event.

By the way, this is NOT the way to groom up leaders.  All one is doing is grooming followers – who become little more than loyal subjects unable to think for themselves.  When the leader collapses from exhaustion or burn out, the followers freeze in their spot and do nothing.

Likewise, there are many businesses that operate in the same fashion.  They allow the employees little room for creativity and tend to stifle the growth of the employee.

Often this is the case in a business that started as a mom and pop operation or family business.  The leader is afraid to relinquish control for fear that doing so would be the death of their dream business.  Ironically, by NOT allowing the business to move in other directions, carry a variety of lines of products or expand into uncharted territory will cause a business to spin into a death spiral.

Moses’ father in-law shared great wisdom by telling Moses to let the people solve their own small issues.  He also told Moses to train up leaders that will help them solve their daily dilemmas – thus allowing Moses to deal with only the major issues.

Learning from this teaching in Exodus, we must ask ourselves:

·        Are we grooming up leaders?

·        Are we micro-managing our businesses?

·        Are we stifling the creativity of our employees / congregants?

·        Are we allowing them to learn from experience, rather than us telling them what to do all the time?

·        Are we giving those on committees, at work, at church or even in our homes – are we giving them latitude to experience the joy of solving their own problems, dilemmas, issues and trials?

I challenge you this week to let others share the load.  Let them express their creativity.

Then stand back – and be amazed!

Have a great week

Ron Orendi

Sucking The Life Out Of You

As I write this week’s blog the humidity is as high as I can remember and the temperature is now in triple digits.

Merely stepping outside from the air conditioning into the heat is like getting whacked with a bat.

News stations are reminding us that it is not safe to be out in the heat for extended periods of time.  Anyone who MUST be outside should be sure to stay hydrated.

No this week’s blog is not a weather report or a complaint on current situations.  But we can learn an awful lot from the information we have been receiving and what we have been experiencing.

I am 100% certain that I am NOT alone when I say that there are certain people that “suck the life right out of you.”  They drain us physically, mentally and emotionally.

My question to all of my readers of this blog is….. “how do you deal with the people who drain you?”  Share your thoughts.  And, please no comments like “I’d zap them with my taser.”

Later in the week – I will share my thoughts as well.

C'mon, don't be shy.............

Ron