I have spent much of the past two or three years studying what separates those who succeed from those that don’t.  I have come to the conclusion that it comes down to not what they are trying to do, but why they are trying to doing it.

Back to my opening statement.  For me, that lingering item has been my health.  I have never been able to figure it out.  My wife Michelle sets a great example for me.  She eats good, sleeps 8+ hours a night and runs five days a week.  Beyond that, I want to be in good health.  Even though I am 48, I feel like I am younger than that but at the same time, feel time catching up – if you know what I mean!

A couple of friends of mine, Chemae and Eric, are Take Shape For Life coaches and after years of listening to stories about success they have been having with their clients, I decided to put some of the health principles that they teach to the test.

About six months ago, I started eating smaller meals and cut way back on sugar and carbs.  Boom!  Instant results.  By early November I had hit my first benchmark.  I had dropped twenty pounds and thought I had this health thing all figured out.  After all, I am a professional coach.  Should be easy, right?  Maybe not.

A month later and no more progress.  So I did what I should have done to begin with. Reached back to Eric and Chemae and said “Help!”  Three words made a huge difference.  Here they are and why they are so important.

STOP

When things are not going the way you want.  When you just aren’t getting the results you are looking for – STOP!  I didn’t say quit, I said stop.  I know you have heard the saying “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.”  So if this is the case – stop and take a minute to figure out why things are not working out.  How do you do this?  Simple …

CHALLENGE

If you are not getting the results you were looking for, challenge the thought process that you have been using to get them.  Challenge your why.  Most of all, challenge what you know about what you want and why you want it.  (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn) Knowledge is power and sometimes even when our why is the right one – we don’t understand it enough to make it strong enough to provide the strength to succeed.  OK, then what?

CHOOSE

Now you are a little bit smarter.  Now choose a new path.  The destination might still be the same but now you can make the needed course corrections and get back after it. Life is about choices and usually, the better informed we are, the better choices we make.  Clarity also makes the decision making process much easier.  Eliminate the things that didn’t or won’t work and then you have less to choose from.

So does this work?  Well, one week into following the Take Shape For Life program and I was down 5 more pounds and getting more sleep.  In reality, the process impressed me so much that it struck me that this would be a great addition to be able to provide the same support and resources to my own clients.  Most of them have health related issues on their list anyway so why not add a plan that actually works into the services I provide.

So I have added health coach to my resume.  I joined the Take Shape For Life team earlier this month and am looking forward to sharing a path to Optimal Health with my network of clients and colleagues.  If you are interested in finding out more about the TSFL program I would encourage to visit my TSFL page by clicking here and contact me if you think it makes sense for you and I will help you get started.

There is also a great opportunity that you can sign up for through March 1st.  If you are interested in finding your own path to Optimal Health, join along with thousands of others and sign up for the STOP CHALLENGE CHOOSE (sound familiar) 12 Week Health Transformation.  No cost.  No strings.  Simply an email a day full of great content and tools that can really make a difference for you in your journey to getting healthier.

Just click here and you will be redirected to the Stop Challenge Choose webpage. Click on the I Know / Have a Coach button and put in my name “Barry Smith” and that’s it. Starting on the next Monday, you will receive a daily email full of great value related to improving your health.  If you have any questions along the way, just let me know.

A question today that you may have never asked yourself before – What does Optimal Health look like to you?

You might have already guessed my challenge – Sign up for the STOP CHALLENGE CHOOSE 12 Week Health Transformation and find out what Optimal Health might look like for you. 

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Barry Smith    1/27/14   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2014

The post Change Your Outcome When You Stop, Challenge and Choose appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

I grew up thinking that being a character was a bad thing … a trouble maker, an instigator, basically one who thrives on creating chaos.  It was not until later in life that I understood what character is all about.

You have probably heard the expression; “true character is how you act when nobody is looking.”  That may be true but what about when they are looking?  I won’t dispute the merit in that statement and I believe that it is probably true.  But I think the more important point is that who we are when nobody is looking shapes who we are when we are being watched.

I look back at my life and could easily site several times when acting as a character I was clearly acting without character.  Fortunately, I can say that those experiences have given me a good understanding of the difference between the two.

So how important is character?  Well, let me tell you what I think.  Character trumps just about every other personality trait we can have.  Why?  Because everything else flows through this idea.  People of poor character are seldom trusted or respected.  People of poor character are not committed or dependable.  People of poor character may equally demonstrate values in ethics or morals.

Simply put, if you lack character, you will lack the skills needed to be a leader.  Now maybe you are thinking “so what, I am not, nor do I want to be a leader anyway.”  Well let me share a little insight with you.  John Maxwell says that “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”  He also says that “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

You may or may not agree with those statements, but let me ask you a question.  Do you ever try and influence others to agree with you?  Have you ever tried to persuade someone to believe what you believe?  Thought so!

Here is my point.  Character represents who you are.  It doesn’t matter what you do, your ability to influence others is going to boil down to their perception of your character.

So how do you demonstrate strong character?  Simple – start by doing the right thing.  If you want to have more influence and heaven forbid, be an influential leader, you need to do more than just the right thing, you need to do the things that you don’t have to do.

Look around and see who you believe is an influential leader.  My bet says they are doing things that they don’t have to do.  Non-profit work.  Community involvement.  Donating time to help those lacking the knowledge or resources to do something on their own.  The list goes on.

No, you don’t have to do these things but guess what?  People of high character, no matter where you are, will be doing things they don’t have to do.

So let me ask you a question; “If asked, would someone who knows you refer to you as a character or a person of character?”  They don’t have to be mutually exclusive but they better be individually identifiable!

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SAVE THE DATE:  On October 10th, John will be doing a WEBCAST to teach from his new book and introduce the Maxwell Leadership Assessment.  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WEBCAST

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Barry Smith    10/7/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Being A Character Does Not Mean You Have Character appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

The official release of Scott’s first book, Discover Your Sweet Spot – The 7 Steps to Create a Life of Success and Significance, is scheduled for January 8th, 2014. If you want to be part of the launch party click here.

Yes, this is another book that focuses a lot on leadership, but Scott provides 7 steps that will guide you along a path to success and significance in whatever lane you are travelling.

Scott is the Vice President of the John Maxwell Team and one of the team mentors.  A very successful businessman in the Landscaping business, Scott parallels the ideas of DESIGN, BUILD and MAINTAIN into whatever environment we find ourselves.

This will be the final of three posts taking us through the 7 steps that will teach us how to Design, Build and Maintain a life of success and significance.

PHASE 3: MAINTAIN YOUR LEADERSHIP ENVIRONMENT

STEP 5 – PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT: Poor Maintenance Costs You More In The Long Run

To maintain the success, or significance, that we have achieved will not sustain itself unless we commit to continual growth.  Scott suggests asking questions to keep us on top of our game.  Here are his Elite 8:

1. What do I do best?
2. How can I do it better?
3. Who can I best serve doing it?
4. Of the things I currently do, what should I do more?
5. Of the things I currently do, what should I do less?
6. Of the things I currently do, what should I stop?
7. What should I start doing?
8. What am I missing?

STEP 6 – MAINTAIN THE MAIN THING: Keep Your Vision within Sight at All Times

Scott describes the importance of vision and how, unless we keep it on the forefront, it will soon be lost.  Here are his “Five Lenses of Maintaining Vision”:

1. Define The Vision – If you can’t define the vision, you can’t achieve it.
2. Develop the Vision – Create a clear vision that represents the values behind it.
3. Drill the Vision – Include the entire team in casting the vision and create an environment of unity.
4. Distinguish the Vision – Your vision should set you apart from the rest.
5. Demonstrate the Vision – Very simple here – walk the talk!

STEP 7 – GIVE WHAT YOU CAN’T KEEP: Legacies are Maintained by Investing in Others

Those of you that have followed me for a while know how important legacy is to me.  Scott gives us a great quote from educator Elton Trueblood; “We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.”

Investing in others and believing in them is the way we can leave our fingerprint on generations to come.  We can’t take anything with us, but we can clearly leave something behind.

I have reviewed numerous books and many have had a specific topic or targeted audience.  Discover Your Sweet Spot is for everyone.  We all have a Sweet Spot, but very few are living in it.  If you want to get there, do yourself a favor and pre-order this book.

Scott leaves us with this thought; “If you are enjoying any success in your life, it’s because someone has gone before you, sacrificed, and paid the price.”  

Today’s question: “What price are you paying today to create a legacy that will serve others after you are gone?”

• Click here to read Part 1 – The Design Phase
• Click here to read Part 2 – The Building Phase

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Barry Smith    9/18/13   photo courtesy of Scott M Fay   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Discover Your Sweet Spot – Part 3: The Maintenance Phase appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

You are probably thinking that I have gone off the deep end.  Wouldn’t be the first time I have been accused of that and probably won’t be the last.

Here is where I’m coming from.  I don’t have an issue with people succeeding or with the idea of success.  I simply want more.  I want significance.  This past June, while in Guatemala, John Maxwell made the following statement in one of our training debriefing sessions; “Once you get a taste of significance, you will never settle for success.”

That’s more like it – Significance.  I find it interesting that I don’t get any emails that claim to make me significant.  I wonder why that is.  Maybe because it’s hard to put a dollar amount on significance.  Or maybe people don’t care if they are significant as long as they succeed.

I guess the best way to solve this problem is to define success.  Try this on for size: “Success is doing something you’ve never done before, that makes you feel like you’ve never felt before, in a place you’ve never been before, with people you’ve never met before”.  What do you think?

The picture in this post is of me with four of the orphans that I was blessed to meet while in Guatemala.  Some may say that the toys, books and clothes that we were able to provide was a big success.  Well, I think it was more than that – It was significant. We made a difference in their lives that day!

There is nothing wrong with success, but I really challenge anyone to take a hard look at what they are doing with whatever “success” they feel they have achieved, and tell me what the greater good there is in it.

That’s the difference between success and significance.  Success is about you and significance is about everyone else.  In building my business, I look at everything I do and ask a simple question; “What’s in it for them?”

That question allows me to train, speak, coach and write with the intent of adding value to others.  The paycheck is a bi-product.  Sure I have bills to pay just like everyone else but when I focus on the giving part of the equation, the receiving takes care of itself. Not always right away, but it does come back.

Zig Ziglar was spot on when he said; “You can have everything in life that you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”  I want for others to experience that same thing I desire – to be significant.  At the end of the day, what people desire most is to feel valued.  What is the best way to do that?  By believing in them.

I don’t know what your business model is, and I don’t know what your definition of success is.  But this I know – if your success plan does not make you significant, your are short changing yourself and your clients or customers.

A challenge for you today – review your definition of success, your mission statement or your business plan.  I hope you have at least one of these.  If they do not show a clear path to significance, take the time to make the revisions necessary so you can become significant.

The numbers to the left of your checking account balance give a true statement of what you have.  The number of lives that you have positively impacted gives you the real value of your significance.  I guess I will throw in a question today; “Which numbers are you more interested in?”

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SAVE THE DATE:  On October 10th, John will be doing a WEBCAST to teach from his new book and introduce the Maxwell Leadership Assessment.  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WEBCAST

Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page. 

Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page

Barry Smith    9/23/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Is Significance Part Of Your Success Plan? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

Although the official release of Scott’s first book, Discover Your Sweet Spot – The 7 Steps to Create a Life of Success and Significance, is not scheduled until the first of the year, I have had the opportunity to be included in a group to receive an early release of the book.

Yes, this is another book that focuses a lot on leadership, but Scott provides 7 steps that will guide you along a path to success and significance in whatever lane you are travelling.

Scott is the Vice President of the John Maxwell Team and one of the team mentors.  A very successful businessman in the Landscaping business, Scott parallels the ideas of DESIGN, BUILD and MAINTAIN into whatever environment we find ourselves.

This will be the first of three posts taking us through the 7 steps that will teach us how to Design, Build and Maintain a life of success and significance.

PHASE 1: DESIGN YOUR LEADERSHIP ENVIRONMENT

STEP 1 – Discover Your Sweet Spot – Design with the End in Mind

For the last 30 years I have spent countless hours reviewing construction drawings.  Without fail, the better the design, the better the project and more importantly, the fewer problems along the way.

It has been right in front of me most of my life and I never got it, not until Scott showed me how just as a good design can produce a great project, it can produce the same in your life or leadership ability as well.

That design, when done correctly, will land in your Sweet Spot.  Scott breaks down your sweet spot like this; “The convergence of three things: Purpose, Passion, and Plan.”

• Purpose is who you are designed to be.
• Passion is what you love to do.
• Plan is the strategic convergence of being and doing.

As Scott puts it; “Living and working from our Sweet Spot results from intentional design, not accidental disorder.”  I love that!  Are you living by design or disorder?

STEP 2 – Sweat the Small Stuff – The Devils are in the Design

This is a great step.  Scott describes the importance of ALL the details, especially the small ones because they really represent the minor adjustments that can make a major difference.

These “Design Devils” come in many different forms and again pulling from his years in the landscape business Scott gives us the infamous five that seem to show up the most often.

POOR DRAINAGE – The people that we bring into our personal or professional life need to be intentional and not accidental.  The people you surround yourself with are going to create the environment in which you wish to grow.  this will determine the flow of your life.  How conducive is your environment to success?

CONTEXT CONFUSION – When you add something to your life, a relationship, a new toy, a bigger house and so on, have you really considered how critical it is to your plan or purpose?  It’s kind of like the shiny squirrel syndrome – we get attracted to something because it looks good, but in reality it may not serve our overall design.

HIGH TRAFFIC – There are clearly areas of our life that receive more traffic than others such as our health.  Face it, everything we do consumes our energy.  If the design does not allow us to refuel, eventually we will run out and … well, you fill in the blank.

AESTHETIC MISFIT – Teamwork makes the dream work, right?  We have got to surround ourselves with those that as Scott puts it; “believe like we believe, but who think different thoughts.”  If you don’t have a shared value system and seek the same desired outcome, it simply won’t work.

SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN – We have to design with the end in mind.  Being short-sighted will result in one of two things:

1. We assume something will stay the same when, really, it’s designed to change.  Or
2. We assume something will change when, really, it’s designed to stay the same.

I have reviewed numerous books and many have had a specific topic or targeted audience.  Discover Your Sweet Spot is for everyone.  We all have a Sweet Spot, but very few are living in it.  If you want to get there, do yourself a favor and pre-order this book.

In the mean time, I leave you with these three questions from John Maxwell referenced by Scott in the book:

• What is required of me?
• What yields the highest return?
• What creates the greatest reward?

When you discover the same answer to all three of these questions, you have Discovered Your Sweet Spot!

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Barry Smith    9/11/13   photo courtesy of Scott M Fay   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Discover Your Sweet Spot – Part 1: Creating The Design appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

One of the things I like most about traveling is seeing how people live differently in different parts of the country.  If you asked a foreigner to explain the American culture, you would probably get a wide variety of answers but they would all be fairly similar in concept.

I believe this is very far from the truth.  I think no matter where you travel in the United States, you see vastly different cultures.  Every area has it’s own unique characteristics that set it apart from the rest of the Country.

Today we traveled from Boise, Idaho down through Salt Lake City, Utah and settled in for the night at a campground on the west side of Wyoming.

Most of you are probably aware that the state of Utah has a large Mormon population and as today was Sunday, we noticed very little traffic outside of the interstate.  I know there are places in the midwest that share similar policy about shutting down on Sunday in reverence of their religious beliefs.

This is just an example of how one area lives out their unique culture and how that way of living shapes it’s residents for the future.

So is this a good thing or a bad thing?  I am sure that you have heard the expression “small town mentality” to describe those that pretty much accept the way things are and don’t have a big vision for any change in the future.

I believe to a certain extent, we are all small town thinkers.  We all have been preconditioned to believe that things are the way we have experienced them.

I don’t think our past needs to predict our future.  In fact, I am of the belief that we can create our own future, no matter what culture we have grown up in.

My son Spencer is going to be a junior at Boise State University this fall and last night we discussed his future and what that might look like.  No, he has not totally identified his future path but he has a pretty good idea and he knows what he is passionate about.  I think that is a pretty good start for a 20 year old.

The thing is “he get’s it.”  Spencer understands that he can create his future and that the only thing that can really get in his way is himself.  The culture he was brought up in may have molded and shaped who he is, but the final sculpting will be by his own hands.

Two thoughts today:  If you think that the culture you grew up in or have been in living in for a while will produce your identity, you are wrong.  You and you alone, will be the author of your story and tomorrow hasn’t been written yet.  What will be written is up to you.

My other thought is for you dad’s out there.  When your kids take off for college or simply move out of the house, you lose the opportunity to have a lot of face to face conversations with them.  Cherish every opportunity you have and be intentional about keeping the lines of communication open with your children.  Remember, it doesn’t matter how old they are, you’re still their parent.
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Barry Smith    7/8/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Who Are You? – Overcoming The Culture Conflict appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

I don’t believe that anymore.  Anyone who has paid any attention to anything over the last five years has seen people lose everything they had.  Tough economy, poor investing, over-leveraging credit, fill in the blank.  The bottom line is that people all around us, possible even you, have lost their assets and some would say their security.

The environment that we live in has taught us that the “accumulation of wealth” is the way to secure your future and the future of your children.  Now I’m not going to pretend that wise investing and money in the bank are not good things but the problem comes when we believe that is what provides our security.

Life happens and we all know that what we have can disappear overnight.  So where do we really find security?  I believe we find it within.  True security comes from knowing that outward circumstances will not control the world you live in.

I was meeting with a potential client earlier this week and I told him that short of something connected to the health and safety of my family, I believe there is really nothing that could happen that would significantly rattle my world.  I stand by that statement.

My wife and I have been extremely blessed to have always been able to meet our needs.  We have what we feel is a nice house in the country, our vehicles are paid for and we are able to pay the bills.  But I recognize that as life goes sometimes, even those things could be gone tomorrow.

But the thing is, I don’t think it would that catastrophic if that happened.  We both are very secure in who we are and are very unattached to what we have.  Our security lies in who we are.

I admit, I have not always felt this way and I have no problem with those that value financial security.  I guess what it comes down to is what is important to you.  Sure I want to be debt free and financially independent but that’s not what makes me feel secure.

One of my favorite quoted from John Maxwell is “People won’t remember what you said and they won’t remember what you did.  They will remember how you made them feel.”  That’s where my security comes from.  How I can make people feel.  As long as I can do that and my family is safe and healthy, that’s all the security I need.

Look, you could be the richest person on earth but if your security is in the wealth, your missing out on what life is all about.  I realize this is all my opinion, but I have been on both sides of this issue and being happy with who I am always wins out over being happy with what I have.

So the question is obvious; Where do you find your security?
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Barry Smith    6/28/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Security Comes From Who You Are, Not What You Have. appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

The truth is I don’t know how to explain it.  How do you explain something that you have never done that made you feel like you’ve never felt in a place you’ve never been with people you’ve never met?

Today I realized what significance really means.  Lives were changed today, including mine.

For about three and a half hours, I trained on laws of growth and personal values with the objective of training about 35 leaders that have committed to bring these ideas and skills to hundreds more.

My only worry going into this first session was that I would be able to connect with these people that did not understand the language I speak.  I could not have asked for a more capable and passionate translator.  When I met Anai this morning, I immediately was put to ease.

Anai, a twenty one year old college student who lives just outside of Guatemala City, told me she wants to get her masters degree in language translation in Chicago and then return home so that she can help support her family.  That was all I really needed to hear.

She was amazing.  Somehow, we moved through the material like we had been practicing together for a long time.  I found it interesting how much different communication is when you have to depend so much more on body language to connect with your audience.

Have you ever had the complete attention of someone you are speaking to even though you know they don’t understand a word you are saying?  Let me tell you, it is extremely powerful!

Our preparation time paid off and I know that those future agents of change not only understand the responsibility they have as leaders now, but also that the hope, or ESPERANZA, of transformation in Guatemala is now reality.  I heard so many amazing stories from my colleagues, many of them describing adversity that was overcome during the process.

Failure was not an option for us today, and I honestly believe this Country will refuse to fail as well.  The outside world has showed up and believed in them and they now believe in themselves.  They will do this.

We finished up with cheers of “La Transformación está en mí.”  Everyone in that room left a different person than when they arrived.  I believe this is the beginning of something much bigger than what will be accomplished this week.

Upon returning back to the hotel, we found ourselves in the company of several of the orphans that we had brought gifts for.  No words can describe the light in the faces of these kids as they took turns selecting from the mountains of crayons, stuffed animals and coloring books.

The picture is of me with some of my new friends.  These boys were some that traveled four hours to be here today.  How was your day?

We finished up the day with a team review of the events of the day.  More amazing stories shared by some of my teammates.  Then John Maxwell stepped to the podium.  You could see and feel the emotion within him as he told us that today was one of his finest moments.  The feedback already received included a request by President Pérez Molina asking John to train his entire cabinet.

This was the one, however, that brought everyone to their feet.  “Once you get a taste of significance, you will never settle for success.”  Today we were significant.  Today, Hope or “Esperanza” is no longer what might change this country.  It is what WILL change it.  Tomorrow, we do it again.  Can’t wait!

• Click here to read Day 1
• Click here to read Day 2
• Click here to read Day 3
• Click here to read Day 4

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Barry Smith    6/13/13   photo by author  © Building What Matters 2013

The post Guatemala – The Word Of The Day “ESPERANZA” appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

Along with great training from John and the EQUIP team, we were blessed to hear stories from some of the locals regarding their anticipation for what will transpire later this week.

Earlier this week people lined up along the streets, cheering on those completing the Guatemala Próspera March that began in Atlanta weeks ago.  Mother’s running out to hug some of the walkers telling them they had been praying 20 years for this emphasis on leadership to be brought to their homeland so their children could have opportunities that were once only a dream.

Honestly, this is all somewhat overwhelming.  The only real examples of support I can compare to in the United States is when we have joined together after some major disaster of tragedy involving the loss of human life.

I believe that what is going on here in Guatemala is about the loss of human life.  Not in the sense of what you think but in “life” that represents the basic rights we enjoy in the US and other Industrialized Nations.

That life, as most of us enjoy it, is not the rule here in the Country of Guatemala, it is the exception.  Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and were told that your country is about to be transformed into something that you have only heard about, something better than anything you have ever experienced before.

That is the attitude of the Guatemalan residents.  Thousands wait to see the impact of this transformation.  The chant of “Transformation begins with me” or to correctly represent it “Transformación esta en mi”, is becoming the war cry of the people.  The Government is being transparent and asking to be held accountable for this change.  Think of the implications of that in itself.

I ask you to take a moment and just picture what it would be like to live in a country with 360,000 orphans.  That number, as a percentage of the population, would be millions in the United States.  A country that has 140,000 people added to the workforce every year with only 20,000 jobs available.  A country that has been praying for years for change that will allow those with the desire, to have an opportunity to succeed.

There is not one person in this Country that matters any less than you or I.  They deserve a chance.  They deserve to have someone believe in them.  They deserve a reason to believe in others.  THEY DESERVE HOPE!

Tomorrow we meet with our translators and coordinate the training that will begin on Thursday.  This I know, my life has already been transformed and in a discussion with some of my fellow coaches tonight we agreed … we have already accomplished so much but have not even started.  This is just the beginning.  Tomorrow starts now!

I know some of this may be hard to understand and this really has been a “you had to be there” experience.

But this I know, when I look into the eyes of those that I will be blessed to train this week, I can only hope that they can see my heart and that I can see theirs.  This week I am not an American and these men and women won’t be Guatemalans.  We will all simply be people sharing this planet that want to be part of the solution.

The solution starts with the Hope that is already here.  Now it’s time to go from relevance to significance.  That will only come from within.  “Transformation Begins with Me” or as I now refer to it, “Transformación esta en mi”

• Click here to read Day 1
• Click here to read Day 2

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Barry Smith    6/11/13   photo by author  © Building What Matters 2013

The post Guatemala – “Transformation Begins With Me” appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

My two hour nap on the plane was over and I could tell immediately that the sun was up high enough that I would be able to see the ground once we dropped below the cloud layer.

A few minutes later, there it was … Guatemala City.  I knew right away this was unlike anywhere I had been before.  I could clearly make out the densely populated neighborhoods with lots of metal and plywood roofed structures.  Debris piles at numerous locations and scrap vehicles seemed to make up much of the open space.

The thing I remember though was how green everything was.  Unlike the various locations I have been to in Mexico, Guatemala City looked “alive.”  Despite the clear evidence of poverty, there seemed to be a ray of hope within the landscape.

Clearing customs went fairly smooth and off to the hotel we went.  People everywhere, old red school buses for mass transit and narrow streets, much like Mexico, but I still sensed something different about this place.

Paul Martinelli, President of the John Maxwell Team, recognizing that we are on the maiden voyage on multiple levels with this process simply offered up the following advice; “Something will not go as planned this week.  Stay the course and enter into the spirit of suspending the requirement to know how.”  In short, be prepared to navigate around the bumps in the road as necessary.

John Maxwell provided his insight and wisdom for much of the afternoon and evening and shared with us how genuinely excited the “power” players in this Country are that we are here to help.

Today’s focus was on Values Based Leadership.  Using Abraham Lincoln as an example, John taught on five of Lincoln’s values.

COURAGE

Anytime we consider a significant change, we know a few things.  It won’t be easy.  Some people won’t like it, and most importantly, it won’t happen without taking a chance.

GOLDEN RULE

You know what it is.  Treat others as you want to be treated.  Certainly there is great disparity in who holds the wealth in Guatemala.  The family’s that control the majority of the wealth are willing to change their perspective and see things from the way they look on the other side of the fence.

HIGH STANDARD

The leaders of Guatemala recognize that the standard of living needs to be raised for the entire country, not just the elite.  As John has described it, “We want to raise all the boats, not just the yachts.”

COMPASSION

Living conditions are difficult for millions in Guatemala.  A compassionate view and a sincere desire to make life better today that it was yesterday is a concept that has been accepted wholeheartedly and that compassion has provided some common ground for all the residents anxiously awaiting this transformation.

COMMITMENT

This is probably the one thing that stuck out for me today.  We heard from several people involved in this great undertaking and one thing is very clear.  The powers to be in Guatemala and the team I am part of are without any doubt, committed to see this through to success.  There is no talk of failure.  Only of the great things that are to come.

This transformation will not happen in a day.  It will happen daily and the 1 in 7 educators of Guatemala that we train this week, are committed to taking these concepts to the remainder.  This is what will provide the transformation.  As it should, the transformation of this Country will come from within.

As it was suggested today, we are all pioneers in this effort.  That statement reminded me of a question I heard a while back.  “When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

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Barry Smith    6/10/13   photo by author  © Building What Matters 2013

The post Wheels Down in Guatemala City – Time To Enter The Room appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.