BLOGS & RESOURCES
A Textbook About Love At Work with Dr. Bruno Cignacco
Dr. Bruno Cignacco’s latest book - entitled, The Art of Compassionate Business: Main Principles for the Human-Oriented Enterprise - is one of the only textbooks about the importance of love at work. He chats with Kevin Monroe about the book and why love is good for business.
Listen to the full episode:
A Textbook
Kevin says that he was surprised that Bruno’s book is a textbook. Bruno responds that it’s both an entrepreneurial book and a textbook, about how companies can be more humane in the business environment. His research goal was to gather some principles about human-oriented enterprises that could be applied to any company, regardless of size, sector or nationality.
Love Is Good For Business
At the heart of compassionate business, Bruno says, is the principle of love. Business is based on relationships, so if you only focus on KPIs, you’re dismissing an important part of your business activity: the human aspect. If your business treats stakeholders - employees, customers, community, even the government - in a loving way, your KPIs will improve automatically as they are a natural result of a healthy relationship between your company and its stakeholders. He is gratified that there is a new generation of businesses that adopt a human-oriented approach.
Holistic vs Fragmented
Kevin quotes Bob Chapman’s book, Everybody Matters, to point out that employees would give their best if they are respected and cared for. Bruno agrees that leaders need to see their employees as whole human beings with different needs. He says that the principle of reciprocity suggests that how you treat your employees influences the way they treat your business. If you adopt the fragmented approach, where you only see them as cogs in your organizational wheel, they would take a defensive mode, and only do the minimum. However, treating employees in a loving way by embracing their humanity, encourages them to give their best.
A Definition of Love
Bruno says that there are two incompatible polarities in business: love and fear. Some workplaces are full of fear, while others operate through love. When you’re focused on love, you connect with others, you feel that you belong, and you’re warmer, kinder and more supportive. Love is much broader than romance, Bruno points out. It includes care, empathy, respectfulness and willingness to help. Love people because they are human, he says, because we’re all interconnected. Kevin mentions that there are over 30 definitions of love in Bruno’s book. He asks Bruno which is his favorite. Bruno replies that he likes the definition of love as service to others.
Love vs Fear
“Love is the natural heightener of people’s human qualities,” Bruno writes in his book, a quote which Kevin shares. “In other words, when people adopt a loving attitude, their positive human side is gracefully enhanced. On the other side, when people adopt an unloving attitude, even their greatest human qualities are degraded.” Love is always expansive, Bruno adds: it helps us to connect with and trust one another; it helps us cooperate better and think more creatively; it makes us more intelligent. Fear, on the other hand, makes us focus only on a narrow set of factors when we perceive a threat. It is immobilizing and does not bring about any positive change within a company.
Bruno offers some practical tips for leaders to build a loving environment. He hopes that love and the idea of embracing the whole human being in the world of work, become common practice. Focus on growing your relationships, and your business will naturally flourish, he advises. When you focus on the people, they will help you achieve your objectives.
Resources
Kevin Monroe on LinkedIn | Twitter
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
Bringing Love To Work with Lorie Corcuera
Kevin Monroe starts the show with two heartwarming messages he received from listeners. These connections and interactions are what this podcast is truly about, he comments. He then introduces this week’s guest, Lorie Corcuera, who is a consultant and speaker, and author of the soon to be released book, Love First, The Rest Will Follow.
Listen to the full episode:
Live Wow
Lorie’s life mission is to “live wow and love completely.” She defines living wow as the intention to create wow experiences, and loving completely as a reminder to love herself and others completely because it’s only when we accept our whole being that we can love others more freely. Kevin responds that ‘wow’ is the perfect response when something happens that grabs your attention and your heart.
Love Belongs In The Workplace
It all comes down to love, Lorie says. Workplace culture is something that is felt. In a fear-based organization we can’t be our real selves because we don’t feel psychologically safe. Love is what we need, even though the word seems inappropriate in a professional setting. To ease their dissonance with the word love, Lorie asks her clients to think about what they want their customers to say about their products, or their staff to say about the company. Usually, they want customers to say that they love their product, and staff to say that they love working there. She then tells them that if they want customers and staff to love, they need to love as well.
Amazing Results
Kevin asks Lorie to define love as it relates to the workplace. She responds that when love exists in the workplace, people feel connected, they work well together, they’re fully engaged and excited about making a contribution. In order to achieve this, leadership has to feel the same way. Imagine if every team member feels worthy, valued, seen and cared for, she says. We would be able to create amazing things together.
Love By Example
Lorie wants people to love by example. We may not all be leaders at work, but we are leaders in our own lives. The best leaders are good with themselves, Lorie comments. Start with embracing and accepting who you are as a person. That will build your confidence to show up as your authentic self. Then you can focus on loving others. Her dream is for a workplace where every person feels love for themselves so that they can love others. That loving energy is shared with customers and team members, and ultimately with their families. “At the end of the day,” Lorie says, “it's all about relationships. Love is the key, because that's the basis of relationships.”
Kevin adds that in a fear-based environment you leave work drained and there’s nothing left for your family or community. On the other hand, when you work in a love-filled organization you may be physically tired at the end of the day, but you are not emotionally drained. You can be fully present with your loved ones. Lorie comments that we all want to look back and say we had an amazing life because we were fulfilled in so many ways. It all starts with love. Kevin challenges listeners to love by example: do something every day for the next seven days to lift and encourage others, he says.
Resources
Lorie Corcuera on LinkedIn
Radical Loving Care book
Kevin Monroe on LinkedIn | Twitter
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
What Is Your Dream?
Kevin Monroe chats one-on-one with listeners this week. He shares gratitude and encouragement as well as the uplifting backstory that inspired this week’s show.
He’s Grateful For…
It’s amazing how projects like the Gratitude Challenge bring like-hearted people together in community, Kevin says. We find one another, engage in conversation and encourage one another. Sharing our stories allows us to connect and build friendships. He is grateful that he is able to provide opportunities for people to connect, collaborate and become friends.
Who’s Your Mahalia?
Kevin sat down to write the blog post for the Big Dreams challenge on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Naturally, he began to reflect on MLK’s famous I Have A Dream speech, and its inspiring backstory. He relates that 10 minutes into Dr. King’s prepared message, he went off script. At one point he paused, and famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was standing behind him, encouraged him. “Tell them about the dream, Martin,” Mahalia urged him. It was then that Dr King ad libbed - vividly and passionately - about his cherished dream. His inspiring speech breathed new life to the civil rights movement, and gave hope to millions.
What’s the dream in your heart? Who is your Mahalia, the person in your life who knows you have a dream inside of you that needs to find fulfillment and expression, and encourages you to keep going?
Kevin’s Dream
Sharing your dream is what allows it to take root and grow, Kevin says. Certainly Dr. King didn’t have a 12-step plan of how his dream would be accomplished, but that didn’t stop him from sharing it. In the same way, Kevin shares his dream with listeners.
Kevin has a dream of a world where:
- Everyone sees themselves as difference makers and gives some part of themselves to making a difference for others.
- We all take a moment every day to share an act of compassion and kindness with those around us.
- Difference makers from around the world connect and collaborate with one another so that together we are inspired to take action on a larger, broader scale than any of us could take alone.
- Everyone has the opportunity to be involved in meaningful work and workplaces around the world are filled with love, dignity, freedom and respect. Where workers return home safely at the end of each day with energy and zeal for their families, because they feel valued, appreciated and respected at work.
- Leaders see themselves as serving those they lead, as shining the spotlight on the great work of others, and creating environments where people flourish and thrive.
- Everyone has a strong sense of belonging; where acceptance is extended as a birthright rather than earned as a bonus for good behavior and performance.
Resources
How Martin Luther King Jr Went Off Script in ‘I Have A Dream’
Kevin Monroe on LinkedIn | Twitter
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
From Burnout to Belonging with Rachel Druckenmiller
This week’s guest is Rachel Druckenmiller, speaker and founder of Unmuted. Host Kevin Monroe promises that their conversation will be inspiring and enjoyable, but also a bit challenging and controversial.
- Rachel says that she has always been an overachiever. Once she realized that she could be successful at school, she decided to keep at it and carried the same attitude into her career. Kevin reflects that the hustle for approval started very early for him as well. Approval is dangled in front of us as a carrot, he says, and it’s the reward that keeps us performing.
- We have this idea that if it's worthwhile, it's going to be hard; and if it's not hard enough, we're going to make it harder.
- Rachel says that she had to be the best, and that meant constantly looking for ways to prove herself to people. When we're insecure, she says, we have this tendency to oversell ourselves instead of just letting our work speak for us. Kevin posits that more money is traded on the Insecurity Exchange than the Securities Exchange. We do all these things to prove that we’re good enough.
- Tying your identity, self-worth and sense of belonging to your achievements is a very dangerous place to be, Rachel warns. Kevin calls this the “will be when ____” phenomenon, because we think we will belong or will be good enough when we achieve something or check some box. He argues that there’s never an end to the boxes we need to check because once we’ve checked one box, we replace it with another. As such, we never feel like we belong or that we are good enough. Rachel agrees; she says that she always felt that love and acceptance were on the other side of achievement.
- Rachel relates that she burned out three years ago, and how that experience led her to realize her value as a person.
- Kevin talks about Dr. Emil Brunner’s Cycle of Grace. Flip the cycle and start with acceptance, he says.
- We punish ourselves mercilessly to get acceptance, which is really a free gift, Kevin says.
- None of us can make any impact on anybody else in isolation, Kevin points out. Even if you work by yourself, he advises you to find a way to connect with other people.
- Start with what brings you joy, Rachel says, and invite others into that joy. Reach out and have a conversation. Take the initiative to join or create the kinds of communities that you want to be a part of.
- Rachel lives by these principles now:
- What is meant for you will not pass by you. If you're meant to do something in the course of your life, everything will conspire to make it happen despite how you might try to prevent it.
- No amount of achievements and accomplishment will ever fill the hole left by a lack of connection and belonging.
- You were born to belong. The fact that you exist means that you’re wanted in the world.
- Kevin asks Rachel how she experiences life differently now. She says she now makes it a priority to make time for the people who mean the most to her. She quotes a poem by Bruce Wilmer, Be Yourself.
Resources
Rachel Druckenmiller on LinkedIn | Instagram
Cycle of Grace by Dr. Emil Brunner
Episode 127: Living an Inspired Life with Debbie LaChusa
Episode 116: Are You Listening? with Jane Adshead-Grant
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
Be Yourself
(Poem by Bruce Wilmer)
The world would like to change you;
There are pressures all around.
You must decide just who you are,
Then firmly hold your ground.
You have an image of yourself,
An ideal sense of you;
And to this vision you must always
Struggle to be true.
You know what you are good at,
And you know where talents lie;
But if you're ruled by others,
Your uniqueness could pass by.
Remember, there is much to learn;
But all new things aren't good.
Wisdom lies in what we learned,
And what we have withstood.
So, be yourself and don't allow
The world to take control.
Preserving your identity,
Is life's most precious goal.
Helping Others Grow with Claude Silver and Cody Royle
This week’s inspiring guests are Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia, and Cody Royle, author, podcaster and head coach of the AFL Team Canada. Host Kevin Monroe is excited that they both are travelers on the Road Less Traveled. They chat about creating a workplace culture that helps people grow.
- One of the most enlightening challenges of the Gratitude Challenge, Kevin says, is Phone-A-Friend. You ask someone else, If you were me, what would you be grateful for? Kevin poses that very question to Claude and Cody. They bring tears to each other’s eyes with their answers.
- The #1 request Claude hears from employees is “Help me grow.” This is what people are actually saying when they ask for feedback or when they want to improve their skills, she says. Along their journey, they’re going to experience many micro-journeys - some successes, some failures - and that is what they’ll remember in life.
- People want to get from point A to point B. As a leader, what are you doing to coach and mentor to get there?
- Cody is happy that the conversation is moving away from management towards coaching and mastery. The sports world can teach us so much about this, he says.
- When you master your craft, you notice that the game slows down, Cody says. The coach’s job is to get the athlete to reach that point by honing skill as well as removing barriers. Kevin finds this a beautiful description of the idea of mastery. He comments that the game slows down because you’ve grown and developed your skill, so you are now able to show up in the environment differently.
- Claude says you can help others grow by creating an environment of psychological safety. Be real, inspire them and live by example so that they feel comfortable to talk about anything with you. She shares a game she uses with employees that opens them up and helps them to talk about what matters to them personally. Cody adds that everyone has to be involved in creating a psychologically safe environment. We can all help each other then because we all feel safe.
- Kevin, Claude and Cody discuss the difference between drinking the water vs drinking the Kool Aid.
- Kevin asks, “What does it take for people to shift and get comfortable with a trusting, welcoming human environment?” Claude says that her company gives trust first not last. It takes time for people and interaction with other workers to accept that it truly is as good as it sounds. Cody comments that it starts with being truthful at recruitment. It’s just like dating: if what you deliver is not what you promised, things go south pretty quickly.
- We have the impression that someone has to stay at an organization for a long time in order to have an impact. We need to rethink this idea, Cody argues. A more productive approach is to ask, How can I help this person right now and maybe momentarily in their life, whether that's with us or not? A good coach helps his players grow so much that they don’t need him anymore, Cody says. Accept that they may leave, but ask them to give you their best while they’re with you, and be the best coach and mentor to them you can be.
- If you want your company culture to change, you be the change, Claude encourages listeners. Find a mentor to guide you if you need to.
Resources
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
Invitation To Live A Decade Of Difference
Happy New Year!
As Kevin Monroe reflects on 2019, he is grateful for all the people he has met. He is also grateful for hope of a brighter future and fresh clarity about who this podcast serves best. In this first episode of 2020, he invites listeners to look at business, leadership and life through a different lens by embracing a decade of difference.
You’re Qualified!
This takeaway from episode 125 with Tim Arnold resonates with Kevin: Everything in your life up to this moment - the good, the bad and the ugly - has prepared you for your present and your future. Therefore, nothing disqualifies you from making a decade of difference. In fact, the things that you think count you out, actually attract people to you. Your life message resonates with others who have had a similar experience, so you have the moral authority to reach them in a way no one else can. Your past lights the way for you and for others who have known the same struggles, difficulties, and challenges. Kevin invites you to make peace with your past, so it no longer casts a shadow over your future.
Characteristics of Difference Makers
Here are some traits that difference-makers commonly share:
- They are other-centered. They’re focused on making a difference in the lives of others, rather than making things better for themselves.
- They are purpose-powered. There’s a purpose that inspires and motivates them to do what they do.
- They are ‘tragically optimistic’. No matter how difficult the circumstances, they believe that good will emerge in the end.
- They are dealers in hope. They inspire others by depositing hope into their lives.
- They are kind, compassionate, caring and humble.
Ripples of Influence
When you make a difference in someone’s life, Kevin says, you may not even be aware of it. There’s no way of knowing how far the waves and ripples of your influence will reach, so don’t even try to track it. The important thing is to realize that your decade of difference cannot be outsourced. It must be insourced; that is, it starts with you thinking differently, seeing the world differently and living differently. Start with your own personal development, and your influence will ripple out to your family, and community, and maybe even the world.
Permission To Live A Decade of Difference
Whether you know exactly what difference you want to make in the world, or you’re not quite sure, Kevin is cheering you on. He invites you to give yourself permission to dream, imagine and discover your decade of difference. You live a decade of difference one day at a time, he says. If you go off-track, reorient yourself and keep moving forward. Connect with a community of others who are also on the journey. Prepare for challenges and tough times because they will inevitably come, but seize the decade nonetheless, and be a difference-maker whatever arena you’re in.
Resources
Episode 125: Managing Tension On Your Journey To Greatness with Tim Arnold
Episode 127: Living An Inspired Life with Debbie LaChusa
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Join the community: KevinDMonroe.com/decade
Living an Inspired Life with Debbie LaChusa
When you get out of your own way and stop trying to make things happen - when you pay attention to what’s calling on your heart - you end up exactly where you’re supposed to be. Following where inspiration leads is the subject of Debbie LaChusa’s book, The Following Inspiration Experiment. She joins Kevin Monroe on this week’s show to talk about living an inspired life.
- Following inspiration means listening to that little voice in your head, Debbie says. It’s trusting your gut, listening to your intuition, or it can be feeling called to do something. For her, it meant stepping away from planning every aspect of her life, and just paying attention to the people, events, and opportunities that showed up.
- Kevin and Debbie relate how they came to this view of life. Kevin says that four words came to his mind one Sunday: “More led, less driven.” Since then he has been intentional about following the invitations that show up in life, rather than trying to make them happen. When Debbie started to let go and started doing what showed up, amazing things began to happen.
- Following inspiration has been a 10-year experiment for Debbie. Kevin asks if she is there yet. She responds that there is no ‘there’. There, she says, implies that happiness and success are someplace else. The best place to be is right here, right now, because when you’re present you notice the inspired path, you pay attention to the ideas that show up, and they stick. It’s simple, but it’s not always easy to practice, she points out.
- Your work will be harder, frustrating, and not as good when you force it. Kevin says that he has never produced inspired work in make-it-happen mode. Debbie adds that the recipients of your work can tell the difference: there’s an energy in your work when you do it from an inspired place that’s just not there when you plow through.
- We’re all going to end up where we’re supposed to be if we pay attention to what speaks to us. We each have our own path, and it’s different from everyone else’s. If we open ourselves to what shows up, our purpose will find us.
- Flow is being in the zone. It’s when life and work feel effortless, peaceful, and purposeful. Debbie says that being in flow is all about getting out of your head and into your heart. Kevin adds that it’s moving effortlessly with energy and direction towards an intention. Drifting, on the other hand, is feeling lost; it’s aimless.
- Synchronicity is a perfect, meaningful coincidence: it’s something that happens that you just couldn’t plan, but feels right. Let yourself follow through on the ideas and opportunities that feel right to you, Debbie advises. Trust that there’s a reason you’re being attracted to them. Ultimately, that’s what synchronicity is, and it’s one of the ways inspiration shows up.
- Living an inspired life makes you feel at peace. Even when bad things happen, you find the lessons and the good that comes from the bad.
- Debbie describes how her book title came about. It was an inspiration in itself, she relates. She says that her ‘marketing’ strategy has been to put her book out there, and trust that it will get in front of the people that it needs to. “That's what's happened,” Debbie says.
- She urges listeners not to be afraid to try something different. If life seems harder, and you’re feeling unsettled, if you’re thinking that there must be a better way, just give it a try, she says.
Resources
The Following Inspiration Experiment
Join the Joy Challenge
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111Schedule a call: KevinDMonroe.com/2020
Holiday Wishes from the Higher Purpose Podcast
Merry Christmas!
In this special holiday episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast, Kevin Monroe takes the opportunity to reflect. He begins by expressing gratitude to listeners and collaborators. He also counts down the top 10 episodes of 2019. Finally, he shares his wishes for listeners for 2020 and beyond.
So Much To Be Grateful For
More than any other time of the year, its popular to express gratitude during the holidays. Kevin asks listeners to think about something they are grateful for in this moment. He shares that he is grateful for the gift of podcasting which gives him the privilege of engaging in conversations and forming relationships with guests as well as listeners. He quotes Barbara Sable who said, “Relationships are primary. All else is derivative.” Kevin reflects that 90% of his guests in 2019 were new relationships that came to be because someone he knew introduced him to someone they thought he should know. None of us knows everybody we need to know, he says, but everybody we do know, knows someone we need to know. When they open the door, beautiful things happen. He goes on to thank his collaborators, without whom the podcast and his other projects would not have been possible.
Clarity Comes Through Action
2019 was a year of experimentation, Kevin reflects. Years ago his mentor Rich Sheridan taught him to stop overthinking and just “run the experiment.” As a result, most of what he now does in life starts as an experiment. Major projects in 2019, such as the Gratitude Challenge, the Humans First Hangout, and the This Extraordinary Life community, came about because of experiments. Kevin points out that clarity comes through action: as he took action, the next steps became clearer, and he is ending 2019 with greater clarity than he started with. His wish for listeners is that clarity comes for them as well.
Top 10 Episodes of 2019
There were several episodes that resonated most with listeners in 2019. Kevin recalls the Top 10 episodes of the year. He wants you to take time to celebrate your progress and come up with your own list of your Top 10 Moments of 2019. Make peace with your past, he urges; celebrate your progress, and prepare for the future.
Holiday Wishes
Kevin wishes you a Merry Christmas. May peace, love and joy be magnified in your life. May you have true peace, which is wholeness and harmony in every dimension of your life. May you have abiding joy even in difficult times. May you have the deep and unconditional love you deserve.
Resources
Top 10 Episodes of 2019:
- Episode 88: Everybody Matters with Bob Chapman
- Episode 101: The Power of Gratitude with Steve Foran
- Episode 82: Being a Chief Heart Officer with Claude Silver
- Episode 102: Dealing With Impostor Syndrome with Kimberly Davis and Melissa Hughes
- Episode 91: The Pulse of Your Organization with David Niu
- Episode 117: Are You Listening? with Jane Adshead-Grant
- Episode 97: Higher Purpose and Self Worth with Traci Fenton
- Episode 96: The Employee Experience with Ben Whitter
- Episode 105: Gratitude Is A Way of Life with Steve Foran
- Episode 98: The Definition of Success with Al Lopez
Join the Joy Challenge
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Schedule a call: KevinDMonroe.com/2020
The Road Less Traveled in Leadership with Mike Vacanti
The Higher Purpose Podcast’s new intro clarifies what the show is about and that it is for people who have chosen the road less traveled in business, in leadership and in life. Host Kevin Monroe says who better than Mike Vacanti to share the first conversation under this new banner? Mike is the first guest to appear on the show three times in a calendar year.
- Kevin congratulates Mike on the launch of his first book, Believership: The Superpower Beyond Leadership.
- Both Kevin and Mike choose not to accept commonly held beliefs or ‘best practices’ if those beliefs and practices do not make sense to them. Mike calls it having the strength to resist becoming someone else.
- Mike shares an experience of corporate culture, of “feeling that I had to conform and become one of them rather than the best of me.” To his mind, if you’re going to work together, you should enjoy the experience. His way of leading his team was producing high-level results, yet he was told they didn’t like his methods. It led him to make the difficult decision to leave the company in order to stay true to himself. He saw their entrenched ideas of how he should behave as a leader as authority, not leadership. The way he led his team was the way he believed leadership should be.
- Mike’s book, Believership, emerged from his exploration of the question, What happens because of me? He discovered that his teams performed well together because they all believed in what they were doing and they believed in each other. He comments that we’re in a new era of business so a lot about leadership needs to change. He wants to open up the dialogue about what that change looks like and what we need to discard to get there. Kevin admires that Mike’s approach is not prescriptive; rather, it is an invitation into a conversation.
- An idea from Mike’s book that Kevin loves is, Lift Others. Mike says that it is an intention that he starts each day with.
- There are repeatable things that we can do to make work better, Mike says, and we should apply those patterns. When they no longer work, we should look for alternatives. Mike is resistant to the term “best practices” as it’s often used as an authoritative statement - the one best way - which closes off ideas, creativity and ingenuity.
- Mike talks about his upcoming book launch event at VaynerMedia in New York City.
- We can do better, Mike says. Things can improve and we can lift others along the journey with us. He sees a decade of difference as an invitation to become excited about the challenges and opportunities in front of us. He encourages listeners to imagine how much we can accomplish this decade simply because of the technology and tools we have available to us.
- Kevin asks Mike to encourage listeners who may be facing difficult times. Mike responds that we need each other. As such, we should be there for one another. When we can support each other, especially when it’s most needed, we’re actually doing greater service. That is when we’re actually winning, he says.
- The road less traveled is lonely when you try to go it alone. When you realize that there are people on the same journey as you, it motivates you and gives you hope. There is a ripple effect that multiplies to others. Kevin sums it up in a phrase: Open hearts, love others, multiply impact.
- To become comfortable with only knowing the next step and taking it, Mike says we should realize that when we take that step forward, our vantage point changes. We can see more clearly what’s possible, and maybe the end result will be much better than what we imagined at the beginning.
Resources
Believership: The Superpower Beyond Leadership
Mike Vacanti on LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call or text Kevin: 678-744-5111
Schedule a call: KevinDMonroe.com/2020
Sailing To An Extraordinary Life with Piers Thurston
This week’s guest on the Higher Purpose Podcast is mindset transformation coach, Piers Thurston. He joins host Kevin Monroe for what the latter calls “a unique, different kind of conversation.”
Your Best Life Is In The Arena
Kevin recently attended a football game that boasted a record crowd. He says he couldn’t escape the fact that over 100,000 people were in the stands, and millions more elsewhere, to watch 22 players. Only the players were in the arena while everyone else was somewhere else: either watching the action, waiting to get in on the action, commentating on the action or missing out on the action. If you’re committed to living an extraordinary life, Kevin says, there’s only one place that can happen, and that’s in the arena. He quotes the Man In The Arena speech by Theodore Roosevelt, “...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…” He asks listeners, Are you in the arena? Life is not a spectator sport. Life is meant to be lived in the arena, so if you’re sitting in the stands, it’s time to change. Get on the field and play.
Who’s Not In The Arena
Kevin lists the different categories of people who are not in the arena:
- Tailgators - In the US people spend more time at tailgate parties than the actual game. For various reasons, they never actually go to the game, they stay in the parking lot. They are missing out on the action.
- Players on the bench - These are either specialist players who enter the field when it’s their turn to contribute or backup players. They’re just waiting for the coach to call them to the field. If you feel like you’re a backup, Kevin encourages you to get ready to go on the field. Your time is coming, he says.
- Players in the locker room - If you get injured or disabled on the field, you’re sent to the locker room. You have to sit the game out and you may even be licking your wounds. Don’t be discouraged, Kevin says. Once you have a pulse you have a purpose. You’re still living and breathing so you still have a contribution to offer the world. Get back in the arena.
- Penalty box - You may have made mistakes or disregarded the rules, and you’ve been sent to the penalty box. You too can get back in the game in time, Kevin says.
- Reporters - These are the people who comment on the game. You get to report the play by play action, but you’re not on the field. If you want to get in the game, you can. It may be as a coach or mentor but get in there regardless.
Are You In The Arena?
Kevin concludes this week’s show by encouraging listeners to ask themselves what’s keeping them out of the arena of life. The arena is where you will live your decade of difference. Don’t beat yourself up over your shortcomings, we all have some. Get in the arena and dare greatly.
Resources
Join the Joy Challenge
Book Your Decade of Difference
Email Kevin: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Call: 678-744-5111
Living Your Extraordinary Purpose with Cornell Thomas
Cornell Thomas, author of Extraordinary, was raised on the adage that everything happens for a reason. His mom taught him through her example that in difficult times, you look for a solution, you don’t quit. He joins Kevin Monroe to talk about finding his purpose and living an extraordinary life.
Listen to the Episode now:
In Finding Your Purpose, Even Baby Steps Are Steps
We’ve all had moments where we think we discovered our purpose in life. Cornell says that happened twice before he found his true purpose. He shares how his purpose changed from basketball player to coach, then to writer. Purpose is a journey, not a destination, Kevin says. Cornell agrees that it’s a journey because it’s never-ending. A destination means that you get there at some point, so it becomes a race to the finish line. There’s no finish line to what I do, he says, because my purpose is evolving every single day. The reason so many people don’t discover their purpose is because they either get discouraged or they think there’s nothing else they could do. There’s always another step, Cornell emphasizes. You have to fight for your purpose. Kevin adds that you just have to take one step, then another, and don’t quit. Even baby steps are steps, says Cornell.
You Are Extraordinary
You are extraordinary because there’s no one else like you or ever will be. So how can you not treat yourself as priceless? The difference between extraordinary and ordinary is that extra that you put in. What you do determines if your legacy becomes special. He asks listeners, who are the top three people who have influenced you in your life? Who would name you in their top three? If you’ve made someone’s top three, you’ve made a lasting impact on their life. That impact will last long after you’re gone, and they in turn may pass it on to their children. That’s legacy for Cornell. Legacy is not changing the world by yourself.
Who’s Your Mahalia?
We’ve bought into a fantasy that one person by themselves changes the world, Kevin comments. The reality is that no one does it alone. The sooner you figure out who your people are, the bigger the impact you will make together with them. He relates how it was Mahalia Jackson’s prompting Martin Luther King, Jr to tell the crowd about the dream, that led to his greatest speech. Who’s your Mahalia? Who is the person who sees your dream and helps you articulate it in a way you’ve never done before?
Getting Through Adversity
Kevin asks: what’s one thing that awakens an ordinary person to believe that life can be extraordinary? Cornell answers that for him, it has been adversity. After you’ve been through a difficult experience, you often ask yourself how you got through it. It awakens you and inspires you to make a change. If you’re in the middle of adversity, he advises you not to go it alone. Use your support network. First, ask yourself, Is this life or death? Then, what do I immediately have to start doing to slowly change my mindset? The third question to ask yourself is, Who can I bring along with me to hold me accountable for these action steps? There are going to be storms in life, Cornell says. But they are transitory and you can get through it.
Live, Love and Lead an Extra-Ordinary Life
In this week’s episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast, Kevin Monroe shares some insights to inspire listeners as a new decade approaches. He speaks about the power of a like-hearted community and leading an extra-ordinary life.
Listen to the Episode Now:
The Road Less Traveled
Kevin believes that, like himself, listeners have chosen the road less traveled, whether in business, leadership or life in general. A question he has been pondering is, what happens when we lose our way on this road? There aren’t any established markings or exits here, so maybe we’re not actually lost as we think. He asks, who do you call first when you’ve lost your way? If that person is not on the same road as you, their options may be very different from yours, so their advice would not be of much help to you. You should surround yourself with people who are on the same journey, Kevin admonishes. Be especially selective about who you allow into your life as a mentor and how much influence you allow them to have in your business and life, he warns, especially if their goals, beliefs, and values are diametrically opposed to your own.
The Power of a Like-Hearted Community
More and more, Kevin is recognizing how important it is to connect to a like-hearted community. We don’t have to think alike, but we must be wired alike at the heart, he says. We can’t change the universe by ourselves, we need to do it in community with people who are on the same road.
Long-Range Planning
Instead of the typical annual planning that we do, what if we think of the coming decade instead, Kevin suggests. Now you have 40 quarters to accomplish your goals, instead of just 4, and 3650 days instead of just 365. How would your plans change using this approach? If we take a decade-long mindset, we wouldn’t be in such a hurry to gain traction, we’d know we have lots of time.
Living an Extra-Ordinary Life
Many of us aspire to be extraordinary but we compare ourselves to other people, and we conclude that we’re just too ordinary. However, the path from ordinary to extra-ordinary is simple: it's doing ordinary things, but doing them with extra focus, flair and fervor. Suddenly, that life that we thought was ordinary is extra-ordinary. This extra-ordinary life is available to us all, Kevin says, and the gateway to it is gratitude. He invites listeners to think about 2020 as a decade of difference. To have that decade of difference, we need to focus more on who we are being and becoming than what we are doing and accomplishing. Embracing the extra-ordinary in business, leadership or life is the long road. Being faithful with it requires us doing it together as a community of like-hearted travelers.
Resources
Call Kevin: 678-744-5111
Email: kevin@higherpurposepodcast.com
Episode 37 - Story Driven with Bernadette Jiwa
Servant Leadership Books
Looking for a great book on Servant Leadership?
I've curated a list of Servant-Leadership books for you. These are 12 of my favorite books to help you better understand and practice Servant Leadership. If you read one book a month, this list provides you with a year's worth of reading.
The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership. ~ James Hunter
Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness (25th Anniversary Edition). ~ Robert K. Greenleaf (edited by Larry C. Spears)
Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving ~ James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick
Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others. ~ Cheryl Bachelder
Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called "Don't Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A” ~ Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge
The Case for Servant Leadership ~ Kent Keith
It’s Not About the Coffee: Lessons on Putting People First from a Life at Starbucks ~ Howard Behar
The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform Your Team, Business, and Community. ~ Kenneth Jennings and John Stahl-Wert
Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear ~ Richard Sheridan
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't ~ Simon Sinek
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders r ~ L. David Marquet
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box ~ The Arbinger Institute
Get your copy of the book list here:
Servant Leadership Quotes
Looking for a list of Servant Leadership quotes?
I've got a list of Servant Leadership Quotes for you. Here are 31 of my favorite Servant Leadership quotations. That's one for each day of the month.
This list has been 15 years in the making and includes quotations I've incorporated in the hundreds of presentations I've developed and delivered on Servant Leadership.
Anytime I'm delivering a presentation, there are always people in the audience either scrambling to snag a photo of a slide with one of these quotations on it. Or worse, I've watched people scribbling as fast as they can to copy it down. I always tell them, "Relax and listen. You can get a copy of the slides."
Here's a sample of some of the quotations you'll find in the 31 Servant Leadership Quotes. In addition to these quotations, you can find a great list of Servant Leadership Books.
If you really live it, Servant Leadership changes everything. ~ Ari Weinzweig
Servant L
One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley
The servant-leader is
Would you like the full list of Servant Leadership quotes emailed to you?
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 65: Faith at Work with Bob Hasson
How do entrepreneurs balance faith and business when one is focused on trust and confidence in the unseen, and the other relies on facts and data? It might not be a matter of balance. Perhaps you are making results-driven decisions because you’re listening to your calling. Bob Hasson, CEO at Hasson Inc. and co-author of “Business in Honor,” shares his insights on living as a person of honor in business and how faith fits into work life.
- It's amazing how Bob's painting career led him to build a successful brand that's been in the business for 40 years. You might be surprised that despite being the boss, Bob has always been more of a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of leader than a ‘front lines’ leader. This all changed after his friend, Danny Silk, got him to co-write "The Business of Honor" in 2017. This stirred Bob's passion and courage to serve the leadership community as a consultant. He talks about his business, his calling, and his faith.
- Speaking of faith, how do you show your faithfulness when you're in business? Kevin and Bob talk about how there's really no one way for us to demonstrate our faith. You can stamp symbols on parcels all you want, but it’s faith in action that gets people’s attention. It's present in your hard work, how you treat others, and how you purposefully live your life.
- A business that's built in the spirit of faith is grounded in honor, it strives to do the right thing even when doing what’s right isn’t easy. It's about finding and believing in the best part of people despite their shortcomings. Bob talks about how organizations benefit when they empower their people to talk, take risks, and share ideas without the fear of punishment.
- We have aspirations of how we want to lead, and most of us don't live up to our aspirations all the time. Being human beings, we have to accept that sometimes we respond in ways that we're not proud of. Bob talks about how trust and vulnerability help in building meaningful relationships. And how being honest and vulnerable in saying, "forgive me," goes a long way.
- Basically, everything that flows in life and in business boils down to the quality of relationships we forge. Kevin and Bob touch on the 3 vital areas we have to invest in when building relationships.
- Beyond sharing their vision, giving direction and clarity, a leader's heart must focus on service to accomplish their goals. Bob and Kevin talk about the energy shift in the organizational pyramid. Instead of the bottom lifting and supporting the top, the leaders' flow of support should go towards setting the front lines up for success. Bob shares how he demonstrated quiet trust during one of his business meetings, and how this delivered dramatic results.
Do you need clarity on how to move forward?Are you at a crossroads or facing a transition and not confident about what to do now or next? Then you're invited to join Kevin Monroe for a Clarity Call. You can enter for a free call or book right away!Bob Hasson:LinkedInInstagramFacebookBookHasson ConsultingHasson Painting Contractors Inc.Resources:How Amazon Prime Was BornDanny SilkCulture of Honor: Sustaining a Supernatural EnvironmentKeep Your Love On
Maybe this explains why company culture really matters...
If you're a leader in business, you know you have a great responsibility. But what if it is greater than you realize and perhaps even more than you signed up for when started the company or took that job.Let me explain.Max Stackhouse in On Moral Business observed,
Business leaders are increasingly the stewards of civilization.
Take a moment to pause….and read that line again. Let it soak in for just a moment. Then consider that Max is a theologian, not a business person. Here are a few reasons behind his belief:
- "Families split, but companies endure.
- Governments fall while firms expand.
- The steeples of the churches are dwarfed by the towers of industry.
- People say they learn more at work than they did at school.
- The corporation reaches across cultures; it transcends the boundaries of nations; it serves as the primary center of production and applied technology, and it binds together people of diverse backgrounds in new global networks of interdependence and exchange." (On Moral Business, Stackhouse, 1995).
Many people spend a third of their waking hours working. What happens at work doesn't stay at work. It follows the worker home and impacts everyone else they encounter along the way and really impacts those with whom they live.What happens at work doesn’t stay at work. It ripples into the homes, communities, schools, and other businesses in your community.Who pays? In many ways we all do.Think of the encounters you've witnessed where frustrated workers vented their frustrations:
- on the drivers around them
- the clerk at the grocery or convenience store
- the barista
- the daycare worker
- the teacher
- the spouse
- the child
- the person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time
Perhaps Stackhouse's insight helps explain why creating a vibrant culture where people thrive and flourish has increased and continues to increase in its importance.[clickToTweet tweet="You know that creating a vibrant #culture in the workplace is considered a huge competitive advantage, but what if it's more. What if it is has become a moral imperative?" quote="Creating a vibrant culture is indeed a compelling competitive advantage, but what if it's more. What if it is now a moral imperative?" theme="style3"]That's something to think about. Want to think out loud about it with me? Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts and ideas in a comment below.
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 57: Becoming a Deep Listener with Oscar Trimboli
Joining Kevin on the Higher Purpose Podcast is Oscar Trimboli - a mentor, leadership coach, speaker, and the author of Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words. Oscar has an outstanding track record of helping leaders become even more impactful leaders by teaching them the complex yet fulfilling act of deep listening. Today’s focus is how to grow beyond the trenches of average listening and learn how to harness the power of pause for effective communication.
- Fun fact: Oscar was already an adult when he first learned to swim. His wife had challenged him to swim in the ocean, and although adamant, he was determined to give this challenge a shot.
- He had 2 coaches to help him prepare for the big swim, a swimming pool coach and a surf coach. Within weeks of training, he had learned how to swim well enough to go 2 kilometers in the pool. But when he hit the ocean, he struggled to make 40 meters, which didn't make sense to his coach at first, since he had been doing most of the techniques right. Except for one vital micro skill - proper breathing.
- He had been swimming 2 kilometers without following proper breathing techniques this whole time. He had been struggling in the surf because he "heard" his coach's instructions, but didn't actually "listen" to them.
- So, Oscar and his surf coach worked to bridge this disconnect by asking the right questions, narrowing the down the variables, and communicating how they were going to achieve the goal together. More training ensued, micro skills relearned.
- The result? He finally swam in the ocean. It’s amazing how aside from learning how to swim, he had also acquired valuable life lessons that would change his perception as a leader, learner, and listener. Everything you learn in life is connected with your higher purpose in some way, all you have to do to connect the dots is to listen for the instructions.
- In case you didn’t know, an average person listens 50% a day, and leaders listen to about 80% a day - with only 2% trained in deep listening. You may be wondering, “Why is there a huge gap in listening capabilities?”
- Oscar explains that hearing is our birthright, it's the first sense that gets developed while we’re in our mother’s womb, and the last sense that shuts down when we die. So, hearing in many ways is the beginning and the end, but the distinction between hearing and listening is, listening is an intention you set before you commence, whereas hearing is instinctive.
- Hearing is about processing sounds. Listening is an intention to make sense of what the sounds are. Think of hearing as seeing in black and white, and listening as viewing the world in full color!
- But whether you’re listening at 50% or 80%, you’ll find great inspiration in today’s unusual podcast flow. Especially since Oscar's book, Deep Listening will take center stage in this conversation. The book touches on several Deep Listener concepts such as the power of pause, the 125:400 rule, the 5 levels of listening.
An Extraordinary ExperimentThank you for listening to this episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast. Remember, if you ever think that your work could be less ordinary, there’s not much between you and something extraordinary. Just 13 weeks, and a bold experiment. Find out more about the Extraordinary Experiment here!Oscar Trimboli Website Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words LinkedInResourcesArlene Dickinson Speaker & Listener Breathing Synchronization Study Speaker-listener Neural Coupling
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 56: How to Find Your Purpose with Nick Craig
Nick Craig is the Founder and President of the Core Leadership Institute, and his expertise comes from over 25 years of working with top teams, leadership programs, executive coaching, and much more, with companies like Ben and Jerry’s, Lego, Heineken, Unilever, and the US Military. What makes Nick’s approach truly unique is that he focuses on helping leaders tap into their deeper wisdom rather than giving them rote instructions on how to be a good leader. Today, Kevin and Nick talk about some key takeaways from his new book, Leading from Purpose.
- So many of us have great ideas but lack the belief in ourselves to carry them out and share them with others. Nick is no different. He briefly shares with Kevin how he went through several challenges of his own bringing his unique leadership training to the world. It began as Authentic Leadership and is known today as the Core Leadership Institute, and it all hinges on purpose, something he had reservations about from the start.
- Kevin notes the forward of the book, Leading from Purpose, and the “CAUTION” written there might give you second thoughts about reading the book. We can’t put the exact text here, but in short, once you live your purpose, you can’t unlive it. There’s no going back. Nick has his own purpose, naturally, but he defines it in two parts: the key to get into the room, and the room itself. Have you ever thought about your own purpose in this way?
- Do you have a purpose statement, and if so, does it sound like a mission statement? Or worse, is it filled with corporate speak? According to Nick, purpose is the unique gift you bring to the world – keyword ‘unique.’ He shares some of the most delightful, meaningful statements of purpose he’s heard, including one from the president of Hershey’s, that aren’t at all what you think a purpose statement should be.
- Many of us have lived our lives trying to live up to the expectations other people have of who we SHOULD be, instead of living according to the purpose of who we were MEANT to be. That’s a paraphrase of a line in Nick’s book, and he and Kevin dive deeper into what it means, and more importantly, how it can keep us unhappy with what we do. Do you ever feel like a fish trying to climb a tree? Then this will resonate with you.
- Finding the key to get into your own purpose room can be a real challenge, and Nick has an exercise for you. Sit down and write out a story of a magical moment from your childhood, but not from your own perspective. Write it like a movie script: what happened, who was saying it, what happened next. Nick shares what to do with that story, and it’ll floor you how easy it can be to locate your purpose.
- Once you discover your true purpose, you may realize that you’re in for a rough time. Think about it: are you the one who tells people what they don’t want to hear but need to? It’s not always the case, but a lot of people Nick has worked with find that their purpose is edgier than they ever realized. And that’s fantastic. Out of ‘10,000 encounters,’ there are some that really stand out for Nick, and he shares some of them. They’ll touch your heart.
- You might be Gandalf or Buzz Lightyear in your personal statement of purpose, but that doesn’t mean you should proclaim that to everyone you meet. While you should absolutely stay true to the spirit of it, Nick also advises you to keep another version of your purpose statement to share with others, once your relationship with them deepens.
- Nick closes with some very poignant thoughts on choices, time, perspective, the Divine, and more, and it’ll put you in the right state of mind to dig in and find your OWN purpose.
An Extraordinary ExperimentThank you for listening to this episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast. Remember, if you ever think that your work could be less ordinary, there’s not much between you and something extraordinary. Just 13 weeks, and a bold experiment. Find out more about the Extraordinary Experiment here!If you liked this...Then you'll like the interview Kevin did last year with Thom Winninger about Divine Gifts. You can give it a listen right here!Nick CraigLeading from Purpose AssessmentCore Leadership Institute WebsiteLinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeLeading from Purpose Book
Higher Purpose Podcast Episode 55: Change Your Brain, Change Your Life with Kevin Breeding
Kevin Breeding started Mindset Engine as a way to generate leads for his business. But he soon realized that it was far more than that. In fact, he realized he was rewiring his own brain in creating it. Kevin realized that when you change your brain, you change your life. Today, he shares how you can rewire your own brain to change your mindset and enjoy a far better life.
- Kevin shares the story how he created his Mindset Engine app, how he ‘rewired’ his brand, and of his personal VA who used to suffer from daily panic attacks in a corporate setting before using the app. It’s been two and a half years since her last attack.
- Some people don’t understand the importance of mindset – they wave it off as ‘woo.’ Kevin asks his guest how important the connection is between mindset and success in leadership, business, and life. As you might have guessed, it’s integral. He responds to the question with something he’s observed over the years. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs and influencers would change one very important thing about their trajectory: they would put the mindset stuff first. Many of them believe they would have gotten to where their business is today twice as fast for half the cost.
- It might seem like Kevin was throwing spaghetti at a wall and the Mindset App was what stuck, but that isn’t the case. Intuitively, Kevin knew he needed a coach for himself after a midnight panic attack. His life was ‘on fire,’ and Kevin believed he’d be dead from stress by the end of the year, both from bankruptcy and a divorce. And he knew the place to start was in the way he thought about things. Kevin shares the story of how he began journaling and eventually got to the Mindset Engine.
- Do you ever wonder where the best coaches get the material they use to help others? In Kevin’s case, it was the journal he kept. He explains how he captured his emotions, the progression of his own brain rewiring, and turned it into lessons he uses to this day to help others through his 5-part framework.
- You might cringe at yet another guru touting how, if you mimic what he did exactly, you can succeed, too. But that’s not what Mindset Engine is. Rather than focusing on a single path to success, it focuses on principles – and Kevin believes that to be successful, you have to do it in a way only YOU can, not how a guru did it.
- It’s a shift in mindset that results in a shift of action, of ‘milestone moments.’ Kevin shares a poignant thought: “My fear of failure is nowhere as big as my fear of mediocracy.” Think on that a moment – it takes bravery to succeed and to fail, and bravery is a mindset. Kevin reveals how this shift in his life took him from extreme fear to where he is today.
- Kevin has a free resource available, Mastering Mindset, and he shares some of his favorite insights. The first is about focusing on the process rather than the goal (contrary to what many people teach), and the second is that we are to be a witness of ourselves, not a judge. Powerful thoughts, and Kevin goes into more detail. He also shares some powerful actions you can take today to begin the shift in YOUR life.
An Extraordinary ExperimentThank you for listening to this episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast. Remember, if you ever think that your work could be less ordinary, there’s not much between you and something extraordinary. Just 13 weeks, and a bold experiment. Find out more about the Extraordinary Experiment here!Kevin BreedingWebsite (Mastering Mindset Resource)Get Mindset Engine for FreeJoin Catalyst UFacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInRick Rigsby’s The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout Speech