Curious Abner thought awhile,
(A while is all he had.)
The moment seemed to last forever,
(Forever’s not so bad.)
After all, thought Curio,
It only takes an instant
To contemplate creation,
How far is near or distant?
(To contemplate or “complicate”.)
He wondered with a grin
Content and yes, quite satisfied
With this intellectual spin.
While rolling in the aisle.
Curious Abner thought awhile.
(A while is all he had.) Amen.
From: An Amo and Curio Olio.
A Folio of Prose and Poesy by Lee Broom
In order to be a Leader, one must decide that Leadership is not The Goal.
Leadership is not something that a Leader does.
Being a Leader.
That is very different.
Being a Leader may be Lonely.
Perhaps not.
It matters not whether the Leader has followers.
A Leader who begins to seek Followers ceases to be a Leader.
A Leader is motivated by two things, Love and Knowledge.
Leaders serve the community around them.
Some leaders know this. Some do not.
The Search for Love:
The Search for Knowledge:
The Search itself reveals the strength of The Searcher.
That Strength is seen by observers but appears to be unimportant to Those Who Possess it.
What does a Leader do if not Lead?
The Leader asks “What is the Answer?”
Love And Knowledge says to the Leader, “What is the Question?”
The Leader replies, “I’m not exactly sure.”
Love And Knowledge says to the Leader. “Walk down this path for now. Be observant. Ask more questions.”
The Leader replies, “Okie-doakie.”
From: Leadership
by Lee Broom
It has been said that a True Leader is unaware of possessing Leadership quality or for that matter, a dsire to Lead.
If this is true, how does one become a leader?
Wrong question, I think.
Leaders are attractive to others.
Leaders tend to rely on dependable processes for gathering information.
Leaders are curious.
Leaders ask questions.
Leaders possess power but are unaware of this power. They are not needy. Leaders are willing to assist those who are (needy).
The needy cling to each other.
They are not really needy but the Illusion of Strength from Unity is often misleading.
Leaders enjoy sharing their ideas though they rarely talk about what they have learned. Instead they will talk endlessly about How they learned this and that.
Leaders enjoy helping needy people to become Independent People.
The Independent Nature of Leaders is often misinterpreted as being antisocial when in fact their need for Socialization may not be great.
Leadership then, is the ability to live one’s life in a natural, loving way.
Leadership is not complicated.
Or so I am told
From: Leadership
By Lee Broom
To love is to Heal.
To accept Love is to Be Healed.
Healing begins when Fear is vanquished.
Perhaps it is the other way around.
Fear returns to the shadows and birds begin to chirp.
Fear becomes itself at first light.
The Light of Love is felt with the decision to Accept.
Acceptance lights the Path.
The Path is Today.
This is the way,
To Heal;
To be Healed.
Love becomes the Lover.
And Fear becomes a fading memory.
by Lee Broom
“….. don’t be satisfied with stories, how things
have gone with others. Unfold
your own myth, without complicated explanation …”
–Rumi, Unfold Your Own Myth.
What is important is not the story but the lesson learned.
-Lee Broom, Mythology in Progress. 6/6/2012.
Everyone is gifted – but some people never open their package.
Buddha.
True leaders are barely known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders the people know and admire. After them those that they fear; after the those they despise.
Lao-tzu.
I write often about the fact that Leaders tend to think for themselves while Followers mimic the thoughts and behaviors of others. It is true that some of us are more Leadership prone than others.
Leaders are not motivated by the supposed status of Leadership. That ranking is merely a side effect of the practice of doing one’s own thing. If you Googled the word “Leader” you would not be surprised at the list of names. But Google the word quotations; very revealing.
Okay, so what’s the point? Look at the Buddha quote above and let’s rephrase it. “Everyone is a leader – sometimes we know it; sometimes we don’t”. We all have some level of expertise that has the potential for benefitting society. It isn’t Important that we know what this specialized bit of knowledge is. All that is necessary for the sharing of this information is to be ourselves in the presence of others. If we are prone to isolate, that’s okay. Our social limitations can be our guide. Being there when we are needed is much more important than how long we can endure the event or how often we allow ourselves to become vulnerable. Being there when we are needed requires only one thing: being there.
Thank you for being here.
By Lee Broom
Where does trust come from? By Seth Godin. Seth’s Blog 6.23.2012
Hint: it never comes from the good times and from the easy projects.
We trust people because they showed up when it wasn’t convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it.
Every tough time and every pressured project is another opportunity to earn the trust of someone you care about.
Thank you Seth.
I attended a meeting this morning of Fifty-Plus Business Men who exchanged ideas on the idea of trust. I was one of the dozen or so who were left out of the conversations. After the meeting as I sat in the parking lot in the cab of my Chevy Truck, I thought about the remarks I had heard and speedily scribbled wish-I-had-said notes in my shirt-pocket, spiral notebook.
I addressed the notion of trusting systems over people. I knew something was missing but eventually put my gel pen in my pocket, typed my thoughts into a Word document and scooted back to my cave. I made some lunch, called a few friends, got into my email and scanned the emailed blog announcements of my favorite bloggers. And there you were with a typical, man-of-few-words remark on the subject of my morning meeting of Fifty-Plus Business Men.
Thanks again Seth. And, thank you Reader for stopping by. Lee Broom
Whoso would be a man must also be a non conformist. –Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series
Rebel: Anti-conformist.
Scholar: Non-conformist.
Non-conformist: Seeker of truth
Follower: “What should I do?”
Leader: “What if…….”, “How would……..?”, “Why was that?”
Seasoned Follower: Sounds a little bit like a True Leader. Always carries a book written by a former True Leader.
Voice in the Crowd: Could be anybody, a True leader, A Seasoned Follower, a Non-conformist-Anybody, Anti-conformist; anybody, really.
Voice in the Crowd: “Who wants to be our leader?”
“I do.” Replied a Seasoned Follower.
“Go ahead then.” replied the Voice in the Crowd. “You shall be our leader.
A child in their midst said “I think the Voice in the Crowd should be our leader.”
Though coming from the lips of one so young, the idea seemed to resonate throughout the crowd. So, the followers quickly voted amongst themselves and elected the Voice in the Crowd to be their Leader.
“No, No” said the Voice in the Crowd.” I don’t want that responsibility, really; I spend most of my time writing. I don’t have time to be a Leader. “
“I have an idea,” said the child. “You continue to spend your days writing and I’ll come over every morning and edit your written words; I’ll even create a blog, And, I could make a movie of you at work and publish the video on YouTube. I’m little; you won’t even know I’m there. And you, Mr. Voice in the Crowd, can continue your daily activities undisturbed by your followers plus…. your followers will have a new Leader.”
The Voice in the crowd appeared to mull this idea over, eventually relaxing his furrowed brow, replacing the worrisome stress indicator with a big, wide smile on his lips which was in turn, greeted by a resounding salvo of energetic hurrahs and this group of followers celebrated the fact that they now had a new Leader. Of course they all thought that their new leader was Mr. Voice in the Crowd but you and I know that the True Leader was the little girl who saved the day.
By Lee Broom
Rupert Gettings the intrepid entrepreneur, mused momentarily. (Ah, Karina. Where are you now?)
Karina paused briefly and looked into the mirror (Ah, Rupert. Where are you now?).
The momentary musement fading, Rupert the Fearless donned his chain-mail vest and climbed into the cab of the WORLD’S LARGEST PICKEMUPTRUCK. Karina thought of Elvis and left the building.
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Once upon a time there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. And they grew next to each other. And every day the straight tree would look at the crooked tree and he would say, “You’re crooked. You’ve always been crooked and you’ll continue to be crooked. But look at me! Look at me!” said the straight tree. He said, “I’m tall and I’m straight.” And then one day the lumberjacks came into the forest and looked around, and the manager in charge said, “Cut all the straight trees.” And that crooked tree is still there to this day, growing strong and growing strange. –Tom Waits, in Wristcutters: A Love Story
amorphologyologyism 