One of key concepts I include in almost everything I speak on, teach on, or write about is CLARITY.  Clarity adds power and impact to anything we attempt to do.  [Tweet This]

The SCORRE framework that Davis has broken down does exactly that.  It provides clarity and impact to any idea you might have, regardless how you will be presenting it.

Davis offers two primary functions of the SCORRE process:

• It serves as a scope to force the speaker to focus on a single objective.
• It serves as a logical grid forcing the speaker to make sense and lead the audience to the objective.

I believe that those two functions can serve us in any kind of presentation, written or spoken. Let’s take a closer look at the SCORRE process.

SUBJECT

Nothing too scary or difficult here – simply pick a subject.  It can be anything, but ideally a subject that people are interested in.  Remember, the whole idea of putting a presentation together is to add value to the person watching the presentation or reading the content.

CENTRAL THEME

The central theme is going to be a part of the subject that allows you to build to a specific piece of content.  Your subject might be the automobile but without a central theme, such as fuel mileage, you will find it difficult to provide the clarity needed to engage your audience.

OBJECTIVE

The objective is simply the purpose of the body of work.  When you have clarity on what exactly you are trying to accomplish, you will find it much easier to put together a presentation that makes sense and that the audience can follow and understand.

RATIONALE

The rationale is the logical content of your presentation that will lead the listener to understand the purpose behind it.  In short, these are the main points that support the purpose.  This is the structure of your work.

RESOURCES

The resources are the added “personal touches” that enhance the rest of the story. This could be through graphics, data, humor, or any number of different additions that take a framework or outline and turn it into an interesting, engaging, and value adding presentation.

EVALUATION

As a speaker an author myself, I understand the idea of “dual purposing” everything I create.  It is my work, cradle to grave.  The evaluation part of the process allows me to take a look after each time I present it and see what I need to add, subtract or change.

This book is a highly recommended read for anyone who wishes to communicate in a dynamic way that will connect.  The SCORRE framework will allow you to put together a competent presentation or body of work that will provide a clear message and add value to the one receiving it.

Davis has done an amazing job putting what he has presented into the way he has presented it. You can see the SCORRE process throughout the book.  His wit and wisdom bring the book to life and he has clearly described what has made him a leader in his field.

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Barry Smith  5/31/14   photo courtesy of Amazon   © Building What Matters 2014

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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

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One of the great things about being a coach is that you get to collaborate with other coaches and mentors on a regular basis.  Honestly, I think having a coach or mentor – someone to hold you accountable – is the best way to achieve any goal.  Speaking from personal experience I can say that my results increase dramatically when I have someone holding me accountable to doing what I say I am going to do.

One of my mentors, Kary Oberbrunner, recently posted this on his Day Job to Dream Job blog:

The purpose of your dream is not in achieving the dream itself, but rather the person you become in the process of achieving it.

I think I heard something like this before but it clearly did not stick.  This time it did.  I get this now.  It makes so much sense.  It’s really no different for goals.  When the goal is the goal, the focus is on the destination.  When the goal is about changing who you are, the goal becomes the bi-product of the transformation you go through.

I Don’t Want To Be What I Used To Be!

Maybe it’s the transformation that I have gone through over the past few years in my own life that has brought clarity to this concept.  But now that I understand it, everything I do has more meaning.  And not just to me, but to those around me as well.

In Guatemala last June, John Maxwell told me that; “Once you get a taste of significance, you will never settle for success.” (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)  Think about that one for a minute!

OK, so why does any of this matter?  If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned that today in National Quit Day.  The average day that most people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions.  Do you possibly think that the reason they give up is because they are focused on the destination and let’s be honest, how much change can possibly take place in ten days?

I Want To Be Who I Am Going To Be!

OK – Problem identified.  Now let’s get to the solution.  Here is my advice.  The next time you set a goal, use the one you set ten days ago if you want, spend some additional time writing down (YES, I SAID WRITING DOWN) the person you hope to become in achieving that goal.

We are ten days into 2014 and I will go out on a limb here and assume that most of you have made some type of list of the things you want to achieve this year.  My guess is very few of you have written down who you would like to become this year.

I Can’t Find The Easy Button

Are you going to measure the success of this year by how well you achieve your goals? What if you fail?  What if life happens and you simply can’t attain your goals because of your circumstances?

Here is the good news about focusing on the journey instead of the destination. Setting out to change yourself does not really have much to do with achieving the goal. We can learn through adversity and we can change during the difficult times.  We can grow every day in any situation.  It doesn’t matter what life throws at us.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche may give the best goal setting advice there is.  The problem is that most people don’t get stronger.  They give up or simply change direction because “it makes more sense.”  

As far as I am concerned, this may be the most important question I ask this year. “Who do you want to become?”  How about a bonus question to celebrate National Quit Day?  “What will you do to become that person?”

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That is exactly the point.  If you don’t know what I mean, then you have missed the entire point.  Look at the successful people that you know.  How bad did they want it?  If you don’t know, ask them.  When I say success, I don’t necessarily mean financial success.  It could be anything – but that anything is going to be the thing that they really wanted, that they wanted bad enough.

I have been able to talk with a lot of people over the last few years.  Many very successful and many still looking.  I believe the difference is in being clear on what they want, not how hard they are willing to work.  I know numerous people that work very hard and are not even close to having what they want.  So what is the difference?

When I was younger and our boys were growing up, I knew exactly what I wanted.  I wanted to provide for my family and provide for all their needs and even mix in a few “wants” to provide some added stability and security.  Then something happened.

Our oldest headed off to college and my wife, a career stay at home mom to that point, started a career as a real estate broker.  Over the next few years, with the added income and the empty nest  soon to be upon us, I started to lose the why behind what I was doing.  I started losing focus on what I really wanted.

Most of you know this part of this story.  I started a new career as a coach, speaker and trainer.  As I created this new identity and crafted the trade, I began to once again, find the driving force, the reason to persevere to make it in this new world.  Now that I am fully engaged in this new profession and have added the label author to the mix as well, I once again can honestly say that I have the drive to do whatever it takes to reach my goals.

It has not been easy and it has taken time to complete the transformation, but now I see how the ability to persevere through the difficult times is really the one thing that will empower you to get there.

So what does all this mean?  Simple, now that I have learned from the heartache and the struggle.  Being clear on your why, will provide a way.  It is crystal clear to me when I examine those individuals I would consider “successful.”  If you don’t believe me, take a look around.

I spent too many years “in-between” and quite honestly, I never even knew it. Hindsight is 20/20 but I don’t want you to have to learn the hard way like I did.  So a few questions and a challenge and these ones really count.

What do you really want in life?  And why do you want it?  Be careful how you answer that second question – remember what I said earlier – a strong enough why will produce a way [tweet this].  Another way to look at it courtesy of John Maxwell; “If you have lost your why, you will lose your way.”  So here is the challenge; take some time and figure out the answer to those questions and put it to the test.  If you are not finding the success you are looking for, you may not have a strong enough why to persevere through the difficult times.

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Barry Smith   11/16/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

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Burkus has totally changed the way I think about the topic of creativity.  He does an outstanding job of describing ten myths that I believe clearly demonstrate that there is creativity within all of us. Most of us just don’t know it.

Many of you know that I am constantly reading.  One of the reasons I read is that I think being constantly subjected to the ideas of others helps me to expand my own thinking.  Burkus takes this same thought process and shows how our collaboration with others is the real key behind innovative creativity.

I found one of his myths, the Originality Myth, quite interesting.  He uses two stories, one about Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone and the other about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates regarding “windows” and the graphical user interface (GUI).  If asked “who invented the telephone or the “windows” on your computer, most people would answer with one of the names above.  If you want to know the truth – order the book!

But here is the point.  All creativity, innovation and all good ideas are really the product of what someone did before them.  Bell simply refined what had already been discovered in the telegraph.  Gates and Jobs merely expanded on what Xerox had done years before.

In all honesty, I knew there was more to these stories before reading the book, however, my understanding of what creativity really is and how we get creative has changed considerably.

Burkus discusses these ten myths that are really limiting beliefs that keep us from innovation at both the personal and organizational levels.  Not only does he reveal these myths, but he provides clear direction on how to overcome the challenges that hold us back.  You know I love anyone who battles against limiting beliefs!

I look at myself and the things I have been doing over the last few years.  I have been doing things that I never dreamed I would be doing.  Creating my own content, developing an entire new career and identity and even constructing this website.  I know – nothing special – but it’s mine; I created it.

But here is the point that Burkus makes.  None of this was my idea.  It is simply a combination of watching, learning, and applying what other people know into what I do. Now here is the sweet stuff – if creativity is really the organization of what other people have already done, in a new way, there is no limit to what we can do.

I have only really pulled the thoughts from one of the myths that Burkus offers in this book.  If you have any desire to expand your ability to come up with good ideas and how to turn that into major achievement, grab a copy of  The Myths Of Creativity.

My challenge for you today; Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with others.  Even if it does not make sense or seem possible, it may spur some similar thinking in someone else and who knows what you might collectively come up with.  After reading this book, I realize that no good idea was the product of one thought by one individual.  Be that catalyst to the next major breakthrough that comes along.  What do you have to lose?

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Barry Smith    10/17/13   photo courtesy of Amazon   © Building What Matters 2013

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Watching this dynamic for several years in many different environments, I have come to the conclusion that the real reason that people allow outside factors to influence their level of motivation is because they are focused on someone’s plan rather than on their own.

Let’s think about this a minute.  Most of us either have or are working for an employer. When we do that, we are part of a team that shares responsibilities to provide what is needed to complete the mission of that organization.  Within that environment, we find ourselves working on someone else’s plan and thus the motivation has to come from serving a purpose other than our own.  Or does it?

What are your long term goals?  Financial independence, happiness, early retirement? Now ask yourself how what you are currently doing is helping you to reach those goals?

Stop reading and answer the question.

If you can’t connect what you are currently doing to your long term goals, I would suggest that you will find it highly difficult to be motivated in what you are doing.  In addition, I think that circumstance leaves you with the idea that the people you work with should be helping you reach your goals because you are helping them reach theirs. Right?

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.  –  Jim Rohn

So if they don’t have much planned for you, where do you think your motivation will come from?  Hello!

There is only one answer here.  Motivation comes from within.  It comes from what you are passionate about and from the actions that serve your “why.”

I know many people are frustrated in their current jobs and some may not even have a job which can make the idea of being motivated even more difficult.  But there is light at the end of whatever tunnel you may be stuck in and the better your plan, the brighter the light and better the chance that you will be motivated to find your way out of the tunnel.

So who holds the responsibility for your motivation?  You do.  I used to blame all kinds of people and all sorts of circumstances as the reason why I was lacking motivation. Then I discovered my purpose and created a plan to allow me to serve that purpose and reach those long term goals that I wanted.

Full transparency here, I still have a long way to go.  But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it get’s brighter every day which indicates to me that I am headed in the right direction.

I know this is all easier said than done but the simple fact is that once we stop pointing fingers at other people and take responsibility for our own thoughts and actions, it becomes much easier to find the motivation to do whatever it is that we are doing.

Even if you don’t love what you are currently doing, can you see how it is part of the process to get you there?  If not, you better take a hard look at yourself.  One of my mentors has pounded into me; “Plan your work and work your plan.”

It is no different for your life picture.  Plan your life out and work that plan.  There are many roads to get to the same destination.  Some take longer.  Some are more enjoyable along the way and some are nothing more than gravel roads full of potholes. But if it is a road to get you where you want to go, the trip is worth it.

The BIG question for today; “Will the road you are currently on, get you to your destination?”  If your lacking motivation, it may simply mean that your not clear on your destination.  Maybe you need a new map!

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Barry Smith    7/26/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Quit Pointing Fingers – Motivation Comes From Within! appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

As a coach, and a mentor at times, I have discovered that not only is it better to learn together, but it is also incredible what you can learn watching others learn.  Bell and Goldsmith have hit a homerun on the third edition of this effort.  I will admit that I did not dive into the first to additions, but if you did, the authors have assured us that there are new stories and lessons, much the result of reader feedback.

There are enough takeaways in this book to write a book – well, I guess they already thought of that.  The mentoring model that this book is built around holds the belief that great mentoring requires four core competencies, each which can be used to mentor in a variety of ways.

Bell and Goldsmith use the mnemonic “SAGE” to describe the progression of a productive mentoring process.  For sake of time and space, I will cover these four steps in this post but they only make up about half the book.

SURRENDERING – Leveling the Learning Field

As a coach, I think this step is the one that resonates the most with me.  As the authors put it, “It all begins with surrendering to the process of learning instead of pursuing the program of teaching.”  They go on to say; “Surrendering means completely relinquishing any effort to control or manipulate the outcome.  Surrendering means putting all effort into being completely authentic, real, and mask free.”

The idea is that we get out of the way of ourselves and allow the process to produce the results.  I read this to say that the first step in any successful mentoring effort is to be authentic and transparent and to build rapport with the protégé.

ACCEPTING – Creating a Safe Haven for Risk Taking

The next step is accepting.  “Accepting means inviting the learner to be courageous, to take the risks needed to unfreeze old habits, and embrace and internalize new practices.” Additionally, “When mentors listen to learn (not to instruct), when mentors question to unearth (not to prove), and when mentors converse to explore (not to boast or best), the protégé experiences acceptance.”

Go back and read that again and think about your prior mentoring experiences.  Would these ideas have made a difference in your experience?  The key is found in the final word – acceptance.  Accepting the person and their circumstance eliminates the roadblocks that can hinder the process.

GIFTING – The Main Event

I am very pleased that the authors have included this step.  So much of what we experience in life revolves around someone else’s motives.  As the authors suggest; “True gifting is the expression of abundance without any expectation of a gesture in response.  And it is deliberate and intentional action rather than simply a personality trait or kind manner.”

When was the last time you did something for someone with no expectation of anything in return?  The point here is again, that when our motives our pure, the person we are working with senses that.  When they know you are making an investment in them, and believe in them, it empowers them to move forward in a positive manner.

EXTENDING – Nurturing a Self-Directed Learner

The authors wrap up the SAGE model by recognizing that the mentoring process can create codependency.  Think about it, the protégé has gone through a huge transformation and for the most part, it has been a product of the relationship.  The final step is to extend that learning and change beyond that relationship.

Bell and Goldsmith state; “As new forms of learning become available, the protégé discovers new routes of self-sufficiency.  The ultimate extension takes the mentor completely out of the equation, leaving the protégé to find his or her own way to competence – and independence.”

I am blessed to have several mentors in my life that help me along the way.  That being said, I realize that the only person that will actually create change in my life is me.  I know this because my mentors have followed a model close to that described by the authors.  So I can tell you with full confidence, that this works.  Mentoring makes a difference and makes a significant difference when it is done right.

I realize this was a little longer than my typical entry, but this is an important topic.  The mentoring process has changed my life and it can change yours as well.  Bell and Goldsmith have provided the blueprint to mentor your way to greater achievement and greater significance.

My encouragement today is for you to make the commitment to building partnerships for learning and get involved in the mentoring process.  Find someone that can help you take it to the next level and do the same for someone else.  There is no better time than right now!

For more on Managers As Mentors click here

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Barry Smith    7/24/13   photo courtesy of Amazon   © Building What Matters 2013

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I believe that it is not how we balance our time that leads to success and happiness but more specifically, what we are balancing.

Turn back the clock three years.  My idea of balance used to be adding more of the important things like family, relationships and fun to the other side of the scale to offset the weight of the “work” that was always keeping that side of the teeter-totter firmly on the ground.

I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that no matter what I did, work was always winning out.  Somehow I believed that it was possible to simply add more to the other side and eventually things would balance out. Funny thing – they never did.

Then the light bulb came on and I realized that the solution was not adding things on the important side, but eliminating things from the “not so important” side.  My original logic, had it actually worked, would have only broke the seesaw in the middle bringing both sides crashing to the ground.

I have a new theory now and it actually seems to be working.  Now some of you may disagree but it makes sense to me.  I have heard many say that we need to keep our work and personal lives separate.  I disagree.  I actually think this makes the challenge more difficult.  Now understand both my wife and I are self employed so this may not work for you but it is definitely worth considering.

Let me start by saying that there is definitely a need to totally unplug from work every once and a while to simply recharge your batteries and clear your mind.  But for the most part, it is unrealistic to think that your work and personal lives can be separate.

So if you buy into my logic so far, here is how it works.  The key to balance is to keep the amount of things you are balancing at a limit that you can control.  The more control you have, the closer all those things are to the middle of the plank that they all rest upon.

Think of it like this – we all remember when we were kids and were on the teeter-totter (or seesaw), right?  If you were on one end, it took an equal or greater weight on the opposite end to move up and down.  In other words, 100% or greater to your weight to balance.  When the weight is close to the center, it takes less movement to bring it into balance.

My point – I have now removed those heavy objects that were all the way out at the end, those objects that required a lot of added weight on the other side to bring things into balance.  Now I have control over most of my list, and my life, and it takes less movement on my part to keep things balanced.

Yes, I still deal with the occasional lopsided crash, but all in all I hit the ground much less than before.

So my question for you today is this – “Is your life filled with things that hang on the far ends of your control or are most of them close to your core set of priorities allowing you to keep them in balance?”
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Barry Smith    7/1/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post The Key To Life Is Balance … Or Is It? 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.

I have a pretty good idea of some of the events planned for this upcoming week, but then again, part of me says I have no clue.  This is the first time I have been involved of something of this magnitude and I know full well that every day will be an adventure.

On the flight from Portland to Los Angeles, I tried to find a few moments to start to really get my head in the game so I can perform at the level needed to meet our purpose of bringing some fresh ideas on leadership to a Country in need of them.

One thing I have learned over the last few years is the power of quiet.  When you remove the noise and clutter, it’s amazing what you can learn.

The skies were clear as we flew over southern Oregon and I could see Crater Lake with full clarity and vision.  So clear in fact that I could see the reflection of the still snow covered ridge around the lake reflecting back into the water.  (This is the last time I will get caught without my camera near by.)  But the image remains vivid in my mind.

As I thought about what I could get out of that image it struck me that this upcoming week will be a lot like my flight.

When we took off out of Portland, it only took a few minutes before the clouds took away my vision of the place I call home.  The middle part of the flight was mostly clear and the vision was excellent.  I saw beautiful images of the Central Oregon Cascades, Crater Lake and Mt. Shasta in Northern California

Then came southern California.  As soon as we approached the LA basin you could see that the marine influence had the entire area saturated in white.  The vision was gone, the clarity was gone, and the only way we were going to land safely was for the pilot to trust his instruments and flip the right switch and pull the right lever to get us on the ground safely.

I think this next week, and life in general, are a lot like my two hour flight from Portland to Los Angeles this morning.  Sometimes we can see with full clarity and vision and sometimes we can’t see at all.

No doubt we will face some challenges this week, but we are clear on our mission and that is where our focus will be.  I think my big take away from the flight was the reflection in Crater Lake.  Without the clear skies, there would have been no reflection and I believe it can work in the opposite direction just as well.  When we take the time to reflect, we gain that clarity and vision.

This week my teammates and I will do a lot of reflecting.  Why?  Because it’s time to chart a new course and navigate around the challenges that have plagued this Country for years.  We have been invited to make a difference and it’s time to answer the call.

For all of you that have supported and encouraged myself, my colleagues on the John Maxwell Team and our non-profit partner EQUIP, I want to say thank you.  My responsibilities to the team come first this week, but my hope is to make a little time each night to share the experience as well as our stories of victory.

This is a very exciting and unique endeavor and who knows what it could lead to on an even bigger scale.  I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you.  Stay Tuned!

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Barry Smith    6/9/13   photo by author  © Building What Matters 2013

The post Countdown To Guatemala – The Journey Begins appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.