Archive for the ‘Leadership/Personal Development’ Category

Everything rises and falls on leadership.

Shocking Secrets of Rob and Kenyon Robson

Posted by Orrin Woodward on May 4, 2017

Rob and Kenyon Robson speak on stages throughout the world revealing truths on the Financial Matrix Scam. Sure they are knowledgeable, dynamic, and personable speakers, but what the rest of the story on this couple? That’s the purpose of this article because it reveals the inside story on Rob and Kenyon Robson, a couple who have exploded onto the leadership scene in the last few years.

The first big secret about the Robson’s is the amount of time and effort it took to get on the same page. Despite a deep and abiding love for one another, the newlyweds struggled to communicate properly. This led to numerous high-volume discussions with little positive progress for several years. Thankfully, however, Rob and Kenyon Robson are not quitters, and they stayed committed to the relationship while reading, listening, and associating with those who had fruit in the marriage area to help them. One of the biggest blessing couples experience within a community is working models of marriages, which not only survive, but thrive.

The second big secret about the Robson’s is their giving hearts. I personally learned how the Robson’s, after noticing the many unpaid lunch bill balances, asked to pay in full the late bills for every student that was financially struggling at their children’s school. This example one of many examples I could cite as these two are constantly looking for ways to bless others with the financial blessings they have received. Perhaps because Rob and Kenyon struggled financially themselves, knowing the stress and pain associated with missing bills, they have developed a level of empathy extremely in this self-centered age. How can we help seems to be one of the first questions this couple asks in every situation. Furthermore, Kenyon has volunteered endless hours to serve orphaned children without shining light upon her actions and deeds. Simply stated, these two are some of the biggest givers I know.

Above all, however, I would say the biggest secret to the Robson’s success is they treated their business like a multi-million dollar business before it was even a thousand dollar one. The old saying, “treat a person as he is and he will remain so, but treat a person as he can be, and he will grow into it,” has an equivalent saying in business, namely, “treat a business as it is and it will remain so, but treat a business as it can be and it will grow into it.” Rob and Kenyon dreamed big, acted big, and now have produced big time results. Through the Green Box Financial Fitness Program, the Robson’s have helped thousands move toward Financial Literacy and Financial Freedom. Naturally, the best is still to come as this couple is still reading, listening, associating, and applying the principles to serve even more people.

Today, the Robson’s live in a stunning 8,000 plus square-foot mansion in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, with resort-like amenities. Yes, they are living their dreams, but its important to remember that they have done so by helping others escape the Financial Matrix. This is the essence of win-win business. Rob and Kenyon have proven the radical transformation that is possible when a couple acts upon their dreams. If the reader has not heard this couple speak, he is missing something amazing, for the Robson’s are some of the real speakers one will ever hear and they reach people like few speakers can.

Please share how Rob and Kenyon have impacted your life below.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, Leadership/Personal Development | 69 Comments »

Trim Tabs, Tug-of-Wars, and Ocean Ships

Posted by Orrin Woodward on March 31, 2017

To ensure the safety of the passengers and cargo, the captain of the ship must somehow steer his vessel, a vessel that can weigh upwards of 150,000 metric tons, to ensure it stays in deep water. For this reason, every large ocean going ship has a steering system, consisting of several parts working within a system, including a Trim Tab, designed as a rudder for the rudder which then turns the craft. The Trim Tab is designed to allow the captain to do systematically what is impossible to do physically, apply enough force to turn the megaton ships and fulfill his role efficiently and effectively in a predictable fashion.After all, not only is the amount of force it would take to turn one of the large ships beyond the strength of the strongest person, even the force to turn the rudder of one of these ships is beyond his strength. And yet, due to the leverage of systems, the ship turns on the Captain’s command.

In a similar vein, every successful business applies a Trim Tab designed to produce results systematically that are impossible individually. As discussed more fully in the systems chapter of RESOLVED, the concept of Trim Tabs allows what appears to be unbelievable to become predictable, if not even mundane. In LIFE, for instance, the leader (captain) steers his ship by growing numbers, numbers that expand by running the play that scores every time (Power Player), a play made possible by the leaders building depth. If no depth is built, however, no one goes Power Player, and thus, numbers do not grow within the community. A non-depth building leader, referring back to the ship analogy, is like a non-steering captain of a ship, practically worthless because the craft is beached somewhere in the shallows going nowhere.

In consequence, the true objective in any profession is to determine the Trim Tab activities and master them. To be sure, the captain could have many other great qualities, friendly, loyal, and a communication skills, but he will still run the ship aground if he does not use the trim tab to turn the rudder to steer the ship. Indeed, this is why I disagree with the statement, “Don’t sweat the small stuff and it is all small stuff,” for this is a recipe for disaster. Instead, I suggest, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, but sweat every detail of the important stuff (the Trim Tab actions).” Success hinges upon nothing less than identifying and mastering the Tim Tab activities.

Several months back, I did a talk where I explained depth building to be like pulling the rope in a tug-of-war – the winning side must want it so bad that he/she will do everything legally, morally, and ethically, to obtain victory. Then, last week, a video surfaced from a tug-of-war contest that highlighted the importance of knowing the Trim Tab behaviors (pulling the rope) and staying focused. There was a young boy who simply refused to surrender, encouraging his whole team by his example to keep fighting and stay focused regardless of the setbacks and later exhaustion. This is impressive Trim Tab tenacity, to say the least.

Where is this type of focus, determination, and drive today that this young boy displays? Why do so many people, even those who know the proper Trim Tab activities, simply give up when the going gets tough? Laziness is not the proper response when one’s dreams are on the line; unfortunately, in contrast to the young boys persistence, quitting seems to be the most popular response in today’s pampered age. Nevertheless, as the video teaches, there is a point in every person’s life where he has to determine whether he will do whatever it takes to win or simply be content with losing.

Perhaps this is why basketball great, Kobe Bryant, minced no words when he stated, “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.” The Green Box community has declared war on lazy (lazy habits, lazy excuses, lazy thinking) and replaced it with winning habits, winning reasons, and winning thinking. I simply cannot comprehend why a person would make excuses when others are counting on him. While the movie Bleed is mediocre at best, near the end it had one of the best lines on success I have ever heard. Below is the dialog between the reporter and the three-time world boxing champ, Vinny Pazienza, on the biggest lie ever told about success:

Reporter: So what would you say the biggest deception was? What was the biggest lie you were told?

Vinny Pazienza: It is not that simple.

Reporter: Why not?

Vinny Pazienza: No that is the biggest lie I was ever told.” It is not that simple” and it is a lie they tell you over and over again.

Reporter: What is not simple?

Vinny Pazienza: Any of it. All of it. It is how they get you to give up, they say, “It is not that simple”

Reporter: So what is the truth?

Vinny Pazienza: That it is. That if you just do the thing that they tell you “you cannot” then it is done. and you realize it is that simple and that it always was.

This is IT! Vinny, in a nutshell, is saying find the Trim Tab and do it regardless of how many failed captains, the ones who refuse to steer their ships, tell you bad advice. When Laurie and I discovered the Trim Tab we simply did it – we did it when everyone told us we were crazy; we did it when we physically didn’t feel like it; we did it when no one else believed. We simply did what others said could not be done and then realized how much easier doing it was than thinking about doing it while justifying why it wasn’t working.

The difference between winners and wannabes is captured in the two quotes above, namely, quit listening to those who haven’t gone where you are going and then start (and never stop) walking while everyone else is talking. No wonder why my favorite action quote is, “When all is said and done, much more is said than is ever done.” 🙂

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, Leadership/Personal Development, LIFE Leadership, Orrin Woodward | 27 Comments »

Vacations: Play, Plans, and Preparation

Posted by Orrin Woodward on February 21, 2017

On the “Road to Hana”

Vacations, that bizarre ritual, where perfectly sane people invest money to travel away from perfectly good homes to play, plan, and prepare (the 3 P’s of proper vacationing), are a vital aspect of the success process. Of course, as is true of almost everything in life, vacations must be taken in moderation, paid for without borrowing, and balanced by seasons of high-intensity effort and achievement. Perhaps no one has explained this balance any better than Chris Brady, one of the top 200 most influential authors in the world, who, in his classic book, A Month in Italy, outlined how to enjoy the “sharpening the saw” times without regret or guilt.

This is exactly what Laurie and I did during our recent Maui, Hawaii vacation. The Woodwards and Bradys, as we do several times a year, headed to another exotic location to execute the 3 P’s. Naturally, the Play part was easy, for we went to Maui to experience some of the best “whale watching” in the world and a whale actually surfaced right next to the boat, an awe-inspiring moment, to say the least! Further, Maui has the “Road to Hana”, one of the most beautiful trails to experience God’s creation in person. Finally, after a ten year hiatus, the Woodward boys were ready to challenge their dad’s Grand Prix title, a race we started in 2001 by racing around the numerous connected pools at the Grand Wailea resort. The play part, in other words, was fully covered and I cannot imagine a vacation that packed more fun into the time allotted.

The plan part of vacation, perhaps the most ignored part in most vacations, was also fulfilled. I cannot explain it, but for some reason when I travel, my mind thinks differently, almost as if the new surroundings create new thoughts. Indeed, some of the best ideas I have ever had were on vacation down times, where I was able to get quiet time with the Lord to reveal His plans for my life. In Maui, I had the added benefit of masterminding with my amazing wife Laurie, the CEO of LIFE, Chris Brady, and his amazing wife, Terri. Chris and I celebrated LIFE’s roaring start in 2017 and planned our next steps. After chatting with Chris over several days, we realized we were on the cusp of doing something others would say is impossible, namely, “run the table” in 2017.

Similar to Aaron Rodgers bold statement that the 4-6 Green Bay Packers could “run the table” and win all their remaining games (which they did) to make the playoffs, we believe LIFE can do similarly in 2017 and double our revenue from 2017 by growing double digits every month. In reality, a 6% growth per month would double the revenue for the year, so by having a double digits growth per month goal, we will easily hit the yearly goal if we hit the monthly goals. Jim Collins explained that goals that take your breath away are BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and doubling a company’s total revenue is certainly a BHAG. Nonetheless, the January and February numbers are coming in higher than our monthly goals and the momentum across the organization, thanks to the powerful messaging of the “Green Box,” shows no signs of slowing down. I LOVE big dreams because they have the power to stir the soul! If you are going to have a dream, then make it a big dream, because the worst thing that can happen with small dreams is they come true. J

Finally, a great vacation is a time of preparation. What do we need to do when we return home to crank up our goals and dreams to the next level? I studied my numbers extensively, while sitting out on the patio overlooking the ocean, and I prepared my action steps (who I would mentor, depth calls to do, better messaging to sell more Green Boxes) to pour even more fuel on the fire. Most people fail in life because they were not prepared for the opportunities when they appear. I believe a person’s habits will eventually be revealed. If good habits, they will produce great results with time, but if bad habits, they will produce bad results with time. The old boy scout motto “Be Prepared” has never been truer than it is today. Are you preparing for your future success or are you hoping to get lucky? I have found luck to be a false friend (it comes and goes), but habits to be faithful for they do not depart when the going gets tough.

The Maui vacation was a HUGE success because we played, we planned, and we are prepared to RUN THE TABLE in 2017. The real question is the reader’s preparation for 2017? What is your financial dream? What is your plan? Are you prepared? A person will never rise higher than his daily habits; therefore, all true change begins with a change in a person’s daily habits. I thank God I learned the daily habits of reading, listening, and associating. In fact, while writing this article, I have been listening to Rascal Radio, learning from Chris Brady how to win financially. The bottom line it doesn’t matter how high you rise, because you start falling the moment you think you are too big to do the basic habit that made you rise initially. There is no such thing as shortcuts of the shortcuts – read, listen, and associate with those you desire to be like.

Interestingly, this is why so many one-time winners end up failing – they stop doing the daily habits that made them great originally. Winners gather together to fuel hope, while losers gossip together to fuel hate. Which group are you a part of? I choose to win and ONLY associate with winners who want to talk ideas and strategies to bless others. If someone wants to gripe, gossip, or gloat, then they will have to do so without me. Life is full of drama because sinful people refuse to accept responsibility, but winners think differently, rejecting the drama, they focus, instead, upon their dreams by associating with other dreamers. You are responsible because you are the one who must live with the consequences of your choices.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Fun, Leadership/Personal Development, Orrin Woodward | 32 Comments »

Rascal Radio: The Future of Personal Development

Posted by Orrin Woodward on February 4, 2017

Rascal Radio

Rascal Radio, the Pandora of Personal Development, is launching a revolution, a revolution in the cost and quality of personal improvement. Who has ever heard of thousands of audios on numerous subjects, ranging across practically every subject needed to improve one’s life today, for the absurdly low price of $12 per month! LIFE is serious about impacting culture, and by sharing its best content on a downloadable app for use on any smart phone, it is quickly claiming a leading role in the leadership revolution.

But don’t just take my word for it, try it for yourself by receiving a seven day FREE trial! After seven days, I know you will agree that Rascal Radio is simply the highest quality, best value, and easiest to use, personal development app on the market. Tens of thousands are already enjoying the benefits of Rascal Radio across the globe and the goal is for millions more to experience the leadership difference. Click here to enjoy your FREE seven day trial. Below is a video describing the details.

I love sharing leadership truths on this blog. Now, the readers can learn and apply truths daily right from the convenience of their smart phones.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, Orrin Woodward | 6 Comments »

RESOLVED: Private Victory Failure Modes

Posted by Orrin Woodward on December 12, 2016

True longterm success in any field demands the mastery of the 13 Resolutions. Indeed, failure to master any of the resolutions will shortcut the success process, causing the success engine to seize up similar to an engine running without an adequate supply of oil. For instance, the majority of the people fail to succeed because they never master the first four resolutions (the private victories), let alone master the public and leadership victories which lead to one’s legacy.

The first four resolutions identified and explained in RESOLVED (and elaborated upon in the Mental Fitness Challenge Program – Click here for a FREE trial) are 1) Purpose, 2) Character, 3) Attitude, and 4) Alignment of the Conscious and Subconscious Mind. Failure to apply any of these resolutions is fatal to success for a person who does not achieve internal victories will not advance to enduring external victories.

Ever wonder why many people who “win” the lottery end up in worse shape than they were before their alleged victory? The simple answer is the lottery winner (victim?) catapulted past his private victories directly to the public ones and the foundation could not hold. Like a building collapsing upon itself, the lack of a solid mental and moral foundation caused the responsibilities of success (the Bible states, to whom much is given much is required) to starve the fruit produced before the roots were ready.

So many people want success, but seem unwilling to invest the time necessary to build the foundation upon which the success structure is built. After all, we live in the modern age and we need things done quickly. Who has time to truly develop one’s purpose, character, attitude, or mental alignment? Just give us the results of success and then we will go back and get the foundation. Needless to say, anyone with a basic understanding of human nature know this isn’t true. A person may run from the resolutions at any time but not the poor results one obtains by doing so.

Let’s examine just the first two. Why is purpose so important? For one thing, without it, at the first signs of resistance, the person retreats from his dream and into a settle for life. Resistance, in other words, is a necessary part of all success because it determines the level of “fight” in the person to overcome obstacles. Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the size of the man in the fight, but the size of the fight in the man that counts.”

As a result, a person without purpose, a purpose that feeds his courage, doesn’t rise to the occasion but rather runs from the altercation. This is why people who seemed so committed suddenly move to a path of least resistance because the pain of the process has called out their lack of a clear purpose. Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind.” A person must identify the end in mind that he know he must do in order to fulfill what God has called him to do and then pursue it with a relentlessness that stuns those lukewarm souls who do not know the power of purpose.

Similarly, character is another must-have quality of all truly successful people. For the person without character will take shortcuts personally and not do the necessary self-examination to be sure he is being true to his dreams. Naturally, a person who isn’t true to himself will not be true to others and the lack of character will reveal itself in a lack of results. This, by itself, isn’t fatal unless the lack of temporary results leads becomes permanent because the person lost his character by blaming someone else.

Who is responsible for your success? Who in other words, will be recognized when you succeed? You or the person you are currently blaming because you haven’t succeeded? One of the greatest lessons of character Laurie and I learned was to not blame anyone else for our lack of results. Simply learn, grow, and eventually win.

To be sure, it would have been easier to blame. After all, despite working 6-7 days a week for 5 and 1/2 years, Laurie and I accomplished very little. In fact, outside of private growth, we had litter publicly to show for our efforts. Our friends and families thought we were nuts, but we knew enough about the resolutions to know better. Laurie and I were growing internally, and we knew internal wins precede external ones. Instead of blaming our support team for what they did or didn’t do, we learned to trust that God had a great plan and purpose for our lives.

We learned not blame our circumstances on others and to this day we have never blamed anyone for our lack of results. Blaming leads to bitterness and resentment and is like drinking poison expecting someone else to die. Blaming, to put it bluntly, is a character fault and we refused to sell out our character on the altar of frustration. Those who blame, in short, ought to be ashamed. We realized when God is giving swimming lessons, it’s not the time to demand a lifejacket. Just like butterfly cannot fly unless it strengthens its wings by tearing itself out of the cocoon, so too must people tear themselves out of the cocoon of complacency in order to win. Leaders do not need charity; instead, they need an example. Be the example for your team.

Wow! We are just two resolutions into the Private Victories and, hopefully, many readers are already recognizing areas where they can improve. I will pick up on the other resolutions in future blog posts. I remember when I sat down to outline RESOLVED, I imagined I was writing my last testament to my children and future grandchildren, explaining to them what Laurie and I learned about success and life on journey.

After reviewing the book recently, the 13 resolutions seem as solid to me today as the day I first outline them. They are timeless principles that work for anyone who will work with them until they become second nature. If you haven’t read this book, I encourage the reader to do so as the journey of success begins with a journey of self-discovery.

I pray 2017 is the reader’s year for breakthroughs as he master’s the resolutions to bless not only his family, but others as well.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward: LIFE Chairman of the Board

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, Mental Fitness Challenge (MFC) | 17 Comments »

Dream Big and Long

Posted by Orrin Woodward on November 28, 2016

Many people dream, a few dream big, but only a select few dream big and long. These select few, not coincidentally, also happen to be the ones who achieve the most in any field. Dreaming big, in other words, although a necessary ingredient to success is not sufficient in itself, for without the ability to endure the predictable ups and downs on the success journey, a person’s poor thinking will disqualify him from continuing the journey.

Indeed, this is why one of the resolutions in my Top 100 All-Time Leadership book RESOLVED is Adversity Quotient (AQ) , the ability to handle setbacks without quitting. Perseverance is a combination of knowing why one began the journey, reframing failures into teachable moments, and holding onto the success rope when everything in you wants to let go. This is what makes a champion a champion, the relentless pursuit of perfection regardless of the time and effort needed to create the desired results.

Perseverance

If I had a dime for every person who had what it takes to win who quit on himself, I’d double my net worth. 🙂 Talent, in other words, is rarely the problem; instead, perseverance is what separates the haves from the have-nots. No matter what the field, the resolutions of Purpose, Attitude, and AQ are all part of building the level of perseverance necessary to achieve success at the highest levels. Does the reader know why he does what he does? Has he developed the ability to reframe his setbacks into teachable moments? Can he persevere no matter how great the pain of temporary denial and frustration?

If the reader answered yes to these questions then his success clock is ticking and its only a matter of time before his internal victories are revealed externally. Yes, get a big dream, but also back it up with the AQ to dream long. Success rarely goes to the most talented, but it always goes to the one who refuses to quit until he wins! Perhaps it’s time for the readers to pick up RESOLVED again and begin building the resolutions on the inside to reveal them on the outside.

Furthermore, for advanced study, the Mental Fitness Challenge can help burn the resolutions into one’s thinking to make living them part of one’s DNA. Needless to say, the resolutions are the most predictable formula for success that I know, but they only work when the person does.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, Mental Fitness Challenge (MFC), Orrin Woodward | 9 Comments »

Frontline Community Leadership

Posted by Orrin Woodward on October 24, 2016

“Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower

Having practiced leadership for nearly twenty-five years, I don’t believe anyone has captured the essential difference between effective leadership and ineffective management in community building any better than Eisenhower did in his pithy statement above. Building communities requires three steps: 1) Learn, 2) Do, and 3) Teach. For some unknown reason, managers believe they can skip the vital second step and move directly into teaching what they have never done. Predictably, the managers fail miserably in this endeavor, but then, even more bizarrely, some then blame the lack of results on the community building model versus their lack of leadership.

For instance, I don’t care what community building business one is in, if a potential leader desires to build a big community he must do more than simply recommend the proper teaching CDs on contacting and showing the plan. He must also master contacting personally before he can effectively teach it to his community in business launches. Further, if he desires to teach how to show the plan and share the products with others, he must be doing it himself at least 15 times per month. Indeed, before he can run successful house plans, he must know his message inside and out and have encouraged through his example how others can do one on one’s as well to ensure new people are at his house plans. In other words, the leader learns before he does, and does before he teaches. If this process gets out of order, the person is managing, not leading, and his business flounders.

Successful house plans revolve around new people seeing a bigger vision for the company’s products and vision than the new member is capable of providing. As a result, if no new people are at the house plan, then the leader has most likely fallen into management mode. First, learn the skills of contacting by doing it over and over before presuming to teach it others. Second, learn how to show the plan and share the products by attending opens and then show it over and over again before presuming to teach others how to do so. Successful house plans only occur after the community is confident in showing the plan and sharing the product with others through numerous one on ones. The people who showed interest from the one on ones are then fed into house plans or open meeting to see a bigger picture. Top leaders will promote the next seminar to help the new people see the community in action that will help them get financially free. Miss any of these steps and the potential leader is competing for manager of the year, not leader of the year. 🙂

What are you waiting for? A person can dream all day long while listening to all the CDs, reading all the books, and attending all the seminars, but until he starts DOING the work, he is not qualified to teach. The future has never been bright for those who will act towards their dreams. Learn, Do, Teach works, the only question is will you work. 🙂 True education, in short, leads to ACTION! Quit pushing others strings. Instead, tie the communities strings to your leadership and move in the direction of financial freedom. Your team is sure to follow a person who leads. Plug into LIFE and start the process of learning by doing so one can eventually teach what one has learned to others. In the process, not only will you change your life, but the lives of many others who had no other way out of the Financial Matrix.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward: LIFE Chairman of the Board

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, Life Training | 7 Comments »

Emperor’s New Clothes: Confronting Reality

Posted by Orrin Woodward on September 8, 2016

An excellent example of ego over excellence is found in Hans Christian Anderson’s short story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The wayward emperor cared more about his clothes and status than the people and truth. Indeed, he was so obsessed with his attire that he changed suits every hour, flaunting his wealth and prestige to his subjects.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

One day, two shysters, pretending to be weavers, presented themselves to the emperor. They bragged about their ability to weave the finest clothes with the most beautiful colors and elaborate designs. The clothes, according to the charlatans, were invisible to any simpletons or anyone unworthy of his office. The emperor, seduced by their claims, paid large sums of money to the weavers for new clothes. The two weavers, requesting the most expensive fabrics and threads, set up two looms, pretending to weave on the looms night and day while placing the materials inside their sacks.

The impatient emperor sent one of his loyal ministers to examine the clothes. The minister, discovering nothing, not even a single strand on the loom, feared that he must be a simpleton. He listened to the impostors describe the beautiful colors and patterns, but he only saw them working on empty looms. Still, not wishing to appear unworthy of his office, the minister reported back to the emperor what a genius the king was for hiring such competent and capable weavers. The emperor, after further delays, sent another official, hoping to encourage the completion of his suit. The official also saw nothing but, fearing the emperor’s wrath, reported to the king in a similar manner as the first minister did.

Finally, the day arrived for the emperor to preview the weavers’ work. The emperor, seeing nothing, but fearful of being considered unfit for his kingdom, played along with the deceit, proclaiming his love for the patterns and colors in his new outfit. The two con men proceeded to ask the emperor to remove his clothes, raising their arms as if holding something to put on him. The court officials, scared to speak the truth, pretended to agree with the emperor, lauding his genius and the weavers’ design. The people, in anticipation of the king’s most expensive and wondrous clothing to date, gathered for the parade to view the new clothes.

The emperor paraded through his capital city, listening as the people lavished complements on him and his new clothes. Nearly all were spellbound the king’s new clothes, but over the din of praise could be heard the cry of a child, shouting, “The emperor has no clothes on!” The father quickly reprimanded his son, but everyone around the boy heard the truth. The emperor, although secretly agreeing with the child, continued the parade as the crowd fawned in endless adulation because his new clothes were only seen by those with intelligence, worthy of their high offices.

Confronting Reality

The story highlights how easy it is for data to be ignored when false beliefs cause one to reject real data. Moreover, it reveals how most people prefer comfortable lies over uncomfortable truths. Leaders, however, are different. They demand truth, for they know only with truth can a person or business thrive. It’s vital at the check step of the PDCA process that a person confront reality (the king has no clothes) rather than go along with conventional wisdom, company expectation, or peer pressure. The facts are the facts and the PDCA process reveals whether one is dealing in facts or fantasy. Again, in God we trust, all others must have data. If the person suffers from self-deception, a distortion between reality and his perceptions, he will not confront the data accurately nor adjust his plans to win. The person must choose between comfortable illusions or disturbing realities and only leaders choose the latter.

Why do so many people go through the motions and avoid the PDCA process? They have so much potential and yet so few results. On one hand, winners make changing a habit, choosing to suffer the pain of growth rather than live in mediocrity. On the other other hand, losers make lying a habit, choosing to avoid the pain of losing by blaming others. People who lose live lives of delusions (similar to the king) hating to change so badly they distort reality instead. Naturally, this becomes more difficult as life becomes progressively tougher, but for most, this just increases the creativity of the excuses made.

Strangely, both winners and losers escape the pain of losing creatively: one the creativity to change themselves; the other the creativity to excuse themselves. Disastrously, however, the road usually taken, and what at first blush appears to be the easier route, the escape of pain through self-delusion (the emperor’s choice), ends up being the toughest road of all. For the pain of change is temporary, but the pain of regret is permanent. Be that as it may, the good news is that a person can get off the road to regret and change his destiny at any time by ending self-delusions. After all, when a person is sick and tired of being sick and tired, he will confront reality and start changing.

Leaders refuse to run from issues. They allow setbacks to build an increasing internal level of frustration, until finally, fed up, they explode past previous limiting beliefs. The pain of defeat has become stronger than the pain of changing. If, at any point in the process, the person chooses any of the escape valves to avoid the mounting pressure (excuses, blaming, or justifications), he temporarily kills the pain but only by passing the buck, denying he is responsible for the problem. Leaders refuse this option because the know they kill the pain only by killing the dream.

Anyone can be a leader, but he must refuse the seductive avenues of escape that lead to mediocrity. Reject completely the temporary mental comfort from avoiding the scoreboard of life. Instead, stare at the scoreboard until one has a plan to change and the DO IT! Don’t settle for mental peace and mediocrity. Rather, embrace the mental tumult of confronting brutal reality to win! Ultimately, there are only two choices in life: surviving or thriving. Start starting and quit quitting for (as I say repeatedly) when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

What is the area of life, where the reader has been avoiding truth, that confront and deal with the facts? This will be your finest hour because only the truth will set you free!

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, Orrin Woodward | 16 Comments »

Self-Betrayal: Sabotaging Success

Posted by Orrin Woodward on August 6, 2016

The fatal flaw to success, a flaw so personal and painful that most people avoid its truth at all costs, an avoidance that derails more dreams than all other obstacles combined, is self-betrayal. Of all the challenges facing leaders today, perhaps none has more impact on the community’s success than personal character. After all, leadership is character in motion and how can someone have character if he betrays himself?

Self-Betrayal to Self-Deception

Self-betrayal begins the moment a person does not follow through on his personal commitments. This type of betrayal is so difficult to detect because its so subtle. For instance, maybe the reader set a goal to get up early and study or exercise before work, but when the alarm went off, you quickly shut it off and rationalized you needed sleep more than following through on your commitment to yourself. Of course, this “little” lie fuels further compromises and before long lying to oneself has become a habit. In fact, any time you make a commitment to yourself, and do not follow through, you have taught yourself that lying is acceptable. This is where most people fail – personal character to one’s self. I know. I know. No one likes to be called a liar, but how many times have you committed to do something and didn’t follow through? I’m not talking about commitments to others, but rather personal commitments.

I still remember the day, reading underneath a huge maple tree at lunch, when Stephen Covey kicked me below the belt. He said, “Many times success begins with mind over mattress!” Ugh! That one hurt, because I had made hundreds of excuses for why I just couldn’t be more disciplined in Bible studies, believing I had too much work to do. Covey’s statement changed my perspective, helping me realize that my self-betrayal had already progressed into self-deception – where I convinced myself that lying was ok if it was only to myself. In reality, however, if one cannot tell the truth to himself, he stands no chance of telling the truth to others. Internal character, in a word, always precedes external character.

At the risk of saying too much, for today’s age doesn’t like self-analysis much, probably because these matters hit too close to home for most people and if thought upon for long, they would have to address some of the personal issues. Nevertheless, I believe self-deception is the biggest killer of dreams in the world! People deceive themselves to avoid changing, but the price for this avoidance is their own success. The self-betrayal blooms into self-denial and then people become offended if others dare to question their impeccable character. 🙂 Most people react defensively, thinking, “How dare anyone question my character when I have spent years rationalizing it to myself?”

In all seriousness, I have never given a talk, nor written an article, without the guns first being directed at myself. I, along with every other human being, cannot live our ideals 100% of the time. I am in need of the grace of Jesus Christ just as much, if not more, than you are. Still, why get offended at truth? How is this going to help you change? Indeed, when a person gets offended at unpalatable facts, its a sure sign that self-betrayal is leading to self-deception. Truth has been sacrificed on the altar of personal ego.

If the reader will grant me just a little more time, I would like to suggest a remedy for self-betrayal. The Bible states, “those who are faithful in the little things will be faithful in the bigger things.” Did you catch that? Character begins by being faithful in the little things that if avoided, no one would know but you. Many believe this is ok, since you didn’t let anyone else down, but this is a lie from the depths of hell. For a person that would have no qualms about lying to himself, a self he typically loves more than any other human being in existence, will not be a truth-teller to others. Internal lies lead to external ones. If anything, compromises in personal character lead to greater compromises in one’s relationships with others.

Consequently, true character begins with character to self. Once the war for personal character is accomplished, the authentic individual is now ready to treat others with the same level of character. Not surprisingly, in today’s self-betrayal and self-deception age, it’s pretty much a given that leaders with character will suffer attacks from those who have self-betrayed themselves. Since leaders with character grow big communities, simply by the law of averages, they will have people who perpetually lie to themselves join their community. Naturally, albeit ironically, the people who have cheated and lied to themselves the most are the ones who shout the loudest that others have lied and cheated them. Playing the victim, evidently, is their key strategy to not have to address the lies keeping them from success.

The simple, but painful, truth is no matter how much a leader wants to help others, he truly can’t help until they are ready to help themselves. Self-liars must confront reality and admit it’s their own lies keeping them in bondage. For when people resist truth they are also fighting the change that would set them free. Nonetheless, when people have spent a lifetime betraying themselves, giving up for the umpteenth time in life, their self-deception quickly identifies the reason for the failure and they play the victim card once again. Self-deception has so entrapped them in a web of lies that the truth can no longer set them free. Thus, they are sentenced to a life of victimhood unless God’s graces pierces the veil and wakes them up to this eternal truth, namely, as Shakespeare said, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Heraclitus once said, “Character is fate” and I concur. Character is an inside job and only those who develop character will ever see longterm success. Start today! What is a personal commitment one can make to yourself, you family, your community? Make the commitment and keep it! Quit betraying yourself and your dreams! Quit playing the blame game! Get out there and achieve to serve the greater community! This is your mind over mattress, or to add others, life over lies, and purpose over pokemon moment! 🙂

Remember, success is three things. 1) What does one want? 2) What does it cost? 3) Pay it! Only when a person accepts responsibility for his life will he determine what he want, determine its cost, and then pay it! What area of your life are you ready to stop self-betrayal and let the truth set you free?

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward: LIFE Chairman of the Board

Posted in Freedom/Liberty, Leadership/Personal Development | 51 Comments »

Leadership Culture and Cognitive Dissonance

Posted by Orrin Woodward on July 13, 2016

There is nothing more important, its proper implementation determining the destiny of nations, companies, charities, and families, than the creation of culture. Culture, a system of beliefs, values, and customs a community follows, cannot be seen, but it influences every behavior within the community. Interestingly, despite nearly every leader expressing the need for right culture to produce right results, few seem to build culture with specific intent. This, I believe, is one of the biggest leadership mistakes.

In other words, every community must get intentional about culture or suffer the grave consequences. Just over a year ago, in a conversation with Chris Brady, he boiled down influence within a company to the three R’s – require, recognize, or reward it. Although we weren’t specifically talking culture at the time, it didn’t take me long for me to realize Brady had just summed up the different methods one can create culture within a community. Ever since, I have thought deeply on how to create a culture that requires, recognizes, and rewards the right behaviors.

Cognitive Dissonance

Needless to say, this is much more difficult to do than it sounds, for most companies suffer from cognitive dissonance – a malady where the organization promotes one thing while rewarding another. Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the biggest failure-mode for most communities because it involves a misalignment between the culture and the longterm vision. This misalignment creates cultural inertia that, left to itself, will divide the community and blur the vision. Dissonance, in a word, destroys unity.

Accordingly, great leaders must identify the purpose and vision of the community; then develop the culture of requiring, recognizing, and rewarding to ensure the proper behaviors are performed to accomplish the vision. Moreover, if the leader realizes the 3 R’s currently instituted will not achieve the stated purpose and vision, he must have the courage to make the needed adjustments. In fact, this is what makes the leader the leader, namely, the courage to create the culture in order to achieve the community’s purpose. Any leader not willing to do this, is not truly a leader, for he merely follows the current culture rather than building the proper culture.

In essence, leaders are responsible for eliminating cognitive dissonance out of the culture to ensure the actions of the organization move it towards its purpose and vision. After all, nothing validates the leader’s value so much as his/her ability to move the cultural current in the proper direction. It doesn’t matter if it’s easy; it doesn’t matter if it’s convenient; it doesn’t even matter if it’s popular, but what does matters is whether the community can accomplish its reason for existing with the current culture. Thus, if there is cognitive dissonance, the culture must change.

When an organization is suffering in the throes of cognitive dissonance, the leader’s responsibility is to charge to the front lines and resist the improper cultural current, converting the dissonance into resonance by aligning the 3 Rs to the purpose and vision. Indeed, when the cultural current is flowing smoothly, the requirements, recognition, and rewards align the people win personally and professionally when the company wins purposefully. Proper leadership, therefore, creates the culture and the culture creates the results.

What is the purpose for your company? What is the culture of your company? Do the culture’s results aligned with the purpose of the company? If so, then the community will win. If not, then the leader must get to the front and lead, for as Harry Truman once said about leadership, “the buck stops here”.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Leadership/Personal Development, LIFE Leadership, Orrin Woodward | 38 Comments »

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