‘the balls to stand naked’ from Nic Askew on Vimeo.

Funny how we can make assumptions about people who have done amazing things. It’s so easy to chalk up their achievements to them being super-human. And equally easy to downplay who we are or could be, in terms of convincing ourselves that it just isn’t in the cards for us to accomplish great things like they have.

What if they are really no different than we are? What if their gifts and talents are just different than ours? What if we begin to see our own gifts for what they truly are…gifts to be given, no better or worse than anyone else’s? And what if we could just open our eyes to the countless ways that we could give those gifts to others?

I love Dominic’s pointing to the fact that all relationships are opportunities to create something, and our responsibility is to act on those opportunities. This is where we can start to catch a glimpse of our own uniqueness – no one else before or after you has the same relationships that you do, and out of your relationships are things that could be born that no one else could ever produce in the same way!

My post about Dave Eggers and 826 Valencia is such a great example of this. He connected his relationship with teachers and their challenges around providing one-on-one time with their students, and his relationship to his local writing community and the gifts they could offer. Out of these relationships of Dave’s, 826 Valencia was born, as well as the other legacy sites that have been modeled after 826!

What story in community is out there waiting to be written and told by YOU?

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” ~ Alan Cohen

Writing the first chapter of a story (metaphorically and often literally I suspect!) starts with courage to go into the unknown. Think back to the hardest thing you have done in your life. Hardest in the sense that it required a tremendous amount of courage to undertake. What did it feel like before you committed yourself? What were you telling yourself then? What made the difference to allow you to leap? And reflecting back now, how do you feel about the impact that leap of courage has had in your own life and the lives of others? How did it affect subsequent leaps of courage, either directly or indirectly?

How is your story in community waiting to be written by YOU going to require you to be courageous again? What support will you need to do it?

And finally, showing yourself in the way you really are to others can be a source of power, although at a time of struggle, can just feel like it will just make you more vulnerable. The paradox is that in being more vulnerable with the support of others, we become more powerful!

How naked are you prepared to be as you courageously write the story in community waiting to be told by you?

So, what will YOUR story be like? How will it start? How will it END? We are ALL waiting to hear…don’t let us down. Be courageous. Begin it!

Technorati Tags: assumptions, authentic, community, courage, gifts, impact, leading, opportunities, relationships, uniqueness, vulnerability

Dave Egger’s story in this video (24:29) is truly inspiring! Although the video is a bit long, I really encourage you to make to the space to hear it fully – it’s an amazing story.

Notice the following about what he has to say:

• How he used his creativity to connect one community’s need and another community’s resources;
• How he just got started with putting his idea into action without having all of the answers about what it would ultimately look like;
• How unexpected obstacles showed him the way by remaining open, being creative and remaining unattached to what “should” happen;
• His sense of adventure and playfulness about how the idea evolved, while remaining very focused on the goal;
• How his courage to listen and follow through on his original idea resulted in an abundance of resources showing up that he couldn’t initially foresee, who have helped far more people than I’m sure he ever imagined at the outset.

Technorati Tags: action, adventure, commitment, community, connected, courage, creativity, focus, inspiration, leader, Leadership, playfulness, purpose

Randy Pausch is young, energetic, accomplished and a father of three young children…and in September, 2007, he was told that he only had a few months to live. His message to us about realizing our dreams? Set aside 11 minutes now to hear this truly inspiring clip about what he has learned about living life and pursuing dreams!

Wow – what a powerful reminder about how to live life to the fullest. Imagine how much richer * our * lives could be, if we lived by the lessons that Randy is imparting.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it! Boldness has genius, power and magic in it” ~ Goethe

Why is it that, for many of us, we all too easily shelve our dreams for “some day” when we have the time or resources (or fill in the blank!) to pursue them? What if all of the stars never align in the way we think they need to for us to get started? What if our time runs out before we expect, as appears to be the case for Randy?

I’ve always loved Nike’s slogan “Just Do It!”. Full of energy and “can-do” spirit!  It is so aligned with what Randy is saying.

So what are your dreams? Do you really remember? Ask yourself:

• What story have I made up that is keeping me from realizing my dreams?
• How are my dreams calling me to lead in the world?
• How will the communities that I belong to, both current and future, forever miss out if I am not courageous enough to “just do it!” and make my dreams a reality?

If we are truly leaders, we need to lead by example. Stop telling yourself the old story and design a new one!  Get started today – don’t wait any longer! Even just taking one step towards your dreams, will set those dreams in motion. What steps can you take * right now *?? 

As Goethe said, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it!  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Randy and his family as they continue on their challenging journey.  We are really grateful to him for his courage, strength and wisdom, demonstrated even amidst his daunting challenges. 

Post-script: At the time of writing, Randy was recently admitted to hospital for complications from his chemotherapy treatments, and continues to fight the good fight.  Randy, feel this community’s support for you as you move forward.

Technorati Tags: community, connection, courage, dreams, gratitude, inspiring, leader, Leadership, life