Let me set the stage for a moment: Almost every major book on the topics of leadership, management, success, and personal growth has “listening to great audio recordings” listed as a key component toward helping any individual achieve more, do more, and be more in life. I stumbled into this information a few years ago began to apply it in my life. I now listen to a lot of audio recordings throughout each day to gain insight on specific topics, and also to get myself (that sinister, critical, and negative inner voice) to shut-up long enough to hear some positive truth and encouraging information. One such audio recording I was listening to a few days ago had a commentary from the late Jackie Lewis. She mentioned a blog post by Orrin Woodward who was recently ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the world’s top 20 leadership and management experts.
I loved this video and thought it was a great follow up to my prior post: Triple-A Formula For Attracting People. I suggest you read that original post before you continue.
Orrin’s post is great! Take a few minutes to read his words and watch the attached video. Post your thoughts comments and answers to the following questions below. Have you ever experienced this kind of validation? (If so, see Orrin’s assignment below.) Have you ever given this kind of validation? How did it make you feel afterward in either case?
Here is what Orrin posted:
I watched the most incredible 15 minute video of my entire life. The lessons in this short 15 minutes cover a range from joy to depression, victories to setbacks, naive positivity to chosen positivity, self to others, individual to team, living small to living large, hopeless to hopeful, taking to giving, paycheck to significance, and many more.
The longer I live, the more I realize the essential hunger inside of everyone to be accepted, approved and appreciated. If we, as human beings, could all learn to focus on others before focusing on ourselves, we would overcome so many of the problems that plague our society today. If we desire acceptance in life, then we must give acceptance. If we desire approval in life, then we must give approval. If we desire appreciation in life, then we must give appreciation. If we desire validation in life then we must give validation and if we desire smiles then give others your smile.
I know people can accuse me, an engineer, of losing my rationality and falling into sentimentality, but I know what I speak is true. A sincerely thought out and spoken or written comment can fuel a person for a week. I know many high achievers and it is as true for them as it is for a young child. Recognition: grown men die for it and babies cry for it. Do not hoard this precious gift. Do not feel that complimenting and praising others takes from you. Appreciation is one of the few gifts that the more you give it away, the more it returns to you. You will gather more bees with honey than vinegar. There is a shortage of honey and stockpiles of vinegar in life. This short film has inspired me to share my thanks with you.
I want to thank all of my friends and family for the many kind words and encouraging statements. I will never be able to share how much they have meant to me over the last year. The world tends to beat the joy out of you, but you still have the choice of whether to surrender your joy. If you lost your joy in 2008, then choose now to reclaim it by giving away joy to others. Start a virtuous cycle of sincere praise and appreciation and let’s change the world one life at a time! Can you imagine if every person at every open encourage the other people at our opens like Hugh Newman? The Team would be well past one million people in no time at all! God Bless, Orrin Woodward
Assignment: Please share the names of people who have brought joy to your life through their encouraging words of appreciation and validation.
Philip Brittain LIFE Leadership 