This video is a must see (7:05 minutes). Susan is a contestant on the British talent show “Britain’s Got Talent”. She performed on April 11, 2009 and her performance has become a global sensation with millions of online views in just one week.

Beyond her stunning talent, the thing I LOVED MOST about her performance is how easy it was for the audience (and yes, I’m guilty as charged) to make assumptions beforehand about who she was and what she was (or wasn’t) capable of. In her completely unassuming, down-to-earth and quirky way, she dared to come forward before the world and absolutely shatter those assumptions in seconds.

But the key thing is that she DARED to allow her brilliant talent to be expressed without holding back in any way. Listen to the things she says in her preliminary comments and consider the enormity of the situation she put herself in. And look at the impact it had!!!  She overcame the cynics immediately, connected the show’s audience together in undeniably exuberant support, and to the world with millions of online views…

Susan really personifies the essence of what Connected In Community is about. She is an everyday person who DARES to express her special gift with the world without apology, hesitation or reserve. She dares to let it SHINE brightly, and look at the shockwaves it can create when we trust it, express it and let it go.

She reminds me yet again how important it is to look expectantly for the gifts in others, no matter how difficult they may be to see at first, sometimes well hidden. But they are absolutely there and it is all too easy to form assumptions, to become cynical and to miss them altogether.

Never forget that the person standing in front of you has gifts that are truly unique and incredible, and just as importantly, remember that this includes the person looking back at you in the mirror.

The world needs all of these gifts to be expressed fully and without hesitation. That is why they were given to us in the first place.

Holding back on our own gifts out of fear, modesty, or any of the other myriad justifications we can come up with robs our communities and the world of the essential gifts we each have to offer.

How are you holding back on us with your unique gifts? Be honest. What unimaginably positive impact might you have if you truly dared to bring your own gifts onto your own “stage” and just let them flow as Susan Boyle dared to do with hers?

Examples like Susan’s fill me with inspiration and hope about what is possible if we only let it happen. Dear friend, let it happen. Bring to us all what we so desperately need from you…all of you, fully expressed.

We need more leaders like Susan who confidently drive their stake in the ground and deliver everything they’ve got to achieve it, despite the many doubting Thomases who say it’s not possible. Prove them all wrong like Susan did. Susan, thank you deeply for daring and reminding us to do the same!

Technorati Tags: community, connecting, daring, inspiring, Leadership

A few months ago, by wife and I got rid of our cable TV. Why? We were finding that there was seldom anything on that we felt was really worthwhile watching during the fairly limited opportunities we had to watch. (Sidebar: we haven’t missed it at all!).

In addition to reading more with the time we may have watched TV, we have started to watch more DVD movies. You might guess that we’re not generally in for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Instead, we usually head for the “road less travelled” at the video store.

A couple of days ago, Fiona came home with a movie that we didn’t recall hearing about called The Great Debaters, released on Christmas Day 2007.

Because we haven’t generally heard much about the movies that we rent, it’s always sort of an adventure to watch them – sometimes you win, other times not so much.

As we started to watch this movie though, my expectations were heightened from the very beginning when I discovered that Oprah Winfrey had co-produced it, and Denzel Washington both directed it and played the leading role (the professor).

It didn’t disappoint. Have a look at the trailer (2:30) to get a sense of what the movie’s about.

Why am I telling you about this? Here’s why:

• media has such a tremendous power to inspire, uplift and motivate. This movie is a great example of that power amidst a sea of other fluff that doesn’t. Sadly, you’re not likely to hear about the great stuff as much as the fluff;
• this movie has powerful messages about pursuing your dreams and believing in yourself and what’s possible if you try;
• the leading character is a person of strong conviction and an inspiring agent for social change. He sees the (potential) strength of character in others and gives them the space and opportunities to find their own strength…a great model for all of us in our leadership.

There is an moving dialogue between the professor and the team that becomes their mantra:

Question: Who is the judge?
Response: The judge is God.
Question: Why is he God?
Response: Because he decides who wins or loses. Not my opponent.
Question: Who is your opponent?
Response: He does not exist.
Question: Why does he not exist?
Response: Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth I speak!

Wow! It makes me wonder how firmly as leaders we believe in the truths that we stand for in our own leadership?

In a world of mediocrities and “whatever” thinking, what truths are we so committed to that we speak it and defend it without worrying about our opponents? Without concern for our naysayers?

Granted it’s a movie, AND, it is important to know that it is based on a true story. The passion that the team was able to speak from was firmly grounded in knowing their own truths and what mattered most to them about the way the world needed to change and what their part is making that change happen.

What are your truths about how the world needs to change? What matters most to you? What are you prepared to be passionately outspoken about? How are you speaking your truths in the world? What do you need to do today to move it forward?

Watch this movie and consider it from your own leadership in the world – it is a gem (I watched it a second time).

And as always, please tell us your thoughts below

P.S. Click here (see Inspiration Video) for other recommended picks for high quality, inspirational movies.

Technorati Tags: community, connecting, inspire, Leadership, oprah winfrey, social change, the great debaters, truth

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and in 2008 ( Saturday March 29, 8:00pm), this movement is going global. The following video provides an overview of what Earth Hour is about.

While a great idea on its own merit (one that I certainly support), listen to the video from the perspective of:

• The power of a simple idea that is acted upon;
• The impact that one person can have when he/she takes a stand for something that is important to him/her and then shares it with others; and
• How this idea is connecting people on many different levels of community, from local to global.

While the growing environmental crisis can be overwhelming in terms of what one person can do to reverse it, it is fascinating to me how this emerging crisis that potentially impacts every living creature on the planet is really the first truly shared challenge that humankind has faced.

Although we have not all been equal contributors to this problem, we all have an vested interest in addressing and reversing it. When a community (in this case, global) finds a common purpose, a shared bond, and starts genuinely working together to address it, amazing unintended outcomes could result including strengthening many levels of community.

This movement is such a simple thing – turning off the lights, and our daily appliances for one hour. Skeptics might say, so what – in the grand scheme of things, how much power is actually being saved by Earth Hour? That’s not the point really.

The much bigger and deeper impact is about enrolling people around the globe to take a real action (perhaps for the first time) and for all of us to experience what’s possible from many people taking a small action. Such experiences, especially when seen on a global level shift the individual (and collective) consciousness over time, which then impacts a myriad of other small decisions that we make.

It is all too easy to underestimate the power that we each have as individuals to be change agents in the world, or to simply default to making excuses about why we can’t do anything to impact significant issues. Earth Day started as just an idea for its founder.

As leaders, we need to pay attention to the ideas that we receive. Allowing them space to germinate. Asking ourselves questions about the idea and listening patiently for the answers to present themselves (and without judging those answers prematurely!). And then acting, even if only in a small way, to start the process of life-giving movement to the idea.

All too often, great ideas just need furtile soil to grow, rather than being quickly dismissed as impractical, impossible or even silly.

The other thing that is striking to me about Earth Hour is how this simple notion of “unplugging” for an hour is impacting community. Simply “unplugging” en masse is a common action shared among people in many communities for a greater purpose (including families, civic and corporate communities).

This shared action is bringing those communities closer at the micro and macro levels, even if just for an hour, although I would argue that there is likely a more lasting impact for those communities in different ways. Imagine attending a wedding that is lit with only candles! For those who attend such an event, they are not likely to soon forget the experience or the heightened awareness they gained about reducing power comsumption as a result.

Whether you choose to support Earth Hour or not (and I hope you will), take notice of this growing movement and consider:

• As individuals and leaders, what ideas are ruminating for you that could more strongly connect members of your community?
• How are you holding yourself small in terms of not acting on these ideas?
• What might be possible for you and others if you opened your heart and mind to really explore these ideas, no matter how impractical or impossible it may seem in this moment?

Feel free to share what comes up for you below. By posting your thoughts, you will help others to consider their own answers to these questions.

Technorati Tags: action, community, connected, connecting, environment, ideas, impact, leader

The video below (18:44) is a profound testimonial by neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor from Harvard University, who had the rare experience of being a brain scientist and who herself experienced a debilitating stroke due to a massive hemmorage in the left side of her brain.

As the cognitive functions controlled by her left hemisphere quickly disappeared, she was able to experience and recall the impact from a scientific and a human perspective, and gain insight into what life is like when dependent on the right hemisphere only.

Some key points from the video:

• The right side is focuses only on the present moment.  The left side focuses only on the past and future;
• The right hemisphere thinks in pictures; the left hemisphere thinks in language;
• As humans, we are energy beings connected to the energy all around us through the consciousness of the right side of our brains;
• We are connected to each other as one human family through the consciousness of our right brain hemispheres.  At each moment in time, “…we are brothers and sisters here to make the world a better place.”;
• “In each moment, we are perfect, whole and beautiful.“;
• As soon as the left hemisphere consciousness is engaged and says “I am…”, it separates us from others and from the greater energy field of which we are a part;
• Each living person can purposefully choose to access the peace that she experienced through our right hemisphere consciousness;
• We have the power moment by moment to choose who and how we want to be in the world – which consciousness we choose to live in;
• “I believe the more time we spend choosing to live in the deep inner peace circuitries of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world, and the more peaceful our planet will be.“.

It’s easy to forget that Dr. Bolte Taylor is a well-respected scientist.  I found that remembering this made her message that much more powerful and compelling as she articulates her spiritual experience even as she stands in science.

Our Western world (an increasingly beyond) has become so reliant on left hemisphere consciousness (i.e., information and analysis-dependent) while underutilizing our right.  And concidentally (or likely not), we have at the same time as a society become so pathologically disconnected from ourselves and our fellow human beings. 

While her talk seems to suggest that the right hemisphere is “where it’s at”, perhaps it is not as much about one or the other hemisphere, but rather the awareness and harmonious balance of both as each moment requires.

Nonetheless, what if Dr. Bolte Taylor is pointing to a fundamental truth about our life experience?  What if we have, in this and every moment, the power to live in a much more powereful, expansive consciousness?  What could it mean for healing in this world?  What could it mean for re-connecting with each other?  What could it mean for how we lead in our communities to solve our greatest problems?  What would you choose?  What do you choose?

Let us know your thoughts below…

Post-script note: Many thanks to one of our community members (dkrone1) who brought this video to my attention.  If you come across content which you feel would be useful to all of our members, please post a message at Have A Great Idea? or send me an email at brian@connectedincommunity.com.  We all become more informed and aware when each of us shares what we has learned. 

Technorati Tags: choosing, community, connected, connecting, consciousness, leader, mind, peace, peaceful

Yesterday, I heard a compelling leader originally from South Africa who among other things was talking about his efforts to build a vibrant community in a very impoverished urban setting.  At the conclusion of his talk, he mentioned that the Zulu people of South Africa use the greeting “Sawubona” and their response “Ngikhona”.  The literal meaning behind these words is beautiful and I’ll explain in a minute….

How many times in each and every day do we pass strangers on the sidewalk, interact with the store check-out person, or in countless other ways have an opportunity to greet someone we don’t know?  How often to do choose to offer only an obligatory “hi”, “hey”, a disengaged smile, or worse yet, no acknowledgement at all?  How many “friendly strangers” do we have in our life that we know nothing about – people who we have never spoken to and yet we see them as part of our routine every day?  Are we really too busy to offer someone a genuine smile and greeting that is truly meaningful to them, even if we don’t know them? 

What impact might we have on both them AND US if we consciously (and in time, unconsciously) choose to really connect with these people, even if only briefly?

Back to our Zulu words…what struck me about these words is the gift behind them: “Sawubona” literally means “I see you”. In the Zulu community, if you just walk past someone without greeting them properly, regardless of whether you know them or not, it is considered very offensive because what you are actually communicating to them is that they do not exist in your eyes, or that they don’t matter enough to bother greeting them.  So in the Zulu community, you can count on always being greeted.

The response “Ngikhona” means “I am here” , “I am validated”, “I matter”.

It reminds me of a quote that I love by Philip Toshio Sudo, “Speak directly from your heart to the heart of your listener, as if passing the flame of a candle.”.

What a much more life-affirming approach compared to our all-too-habitual obligatory acknowledgement or disinterest in connecting with a stranger!  Think back to a time when a stranger made an effort to “see you” – how differently we feel when leaving such an encounter!  What a simple step we can take as leaders to build and connect our communities just a little bit more strongly.

So my challenge for all of us…begin again!  The next time (which will likely be today!) that you pass or interact with a stranger, remember the meaning behind these Zulu greetings, remember to pass the flame from your heart to theirs, and make the effort to really see that other person for who they are. 

Then tell this community below what you noticed about their reaction, what you noticed about your own reaction, and what you will do differently going forward. 

Technorati Tags: community, connected, connecting, greetings, leader, Leadership, smile, strangers

Tell us about a great community hero you know…

We are searching for community heroes who are dedicated to serving and connecting the communities that they belong to.  They usually have great stories that often go unsung.  And we can all only learn from them if we know about them, so please tell us !

Technorati Tags: community, connected, connecting, heroes